-Olive-Percival 


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CAPTAIN   HATTERAS. 


JULES    VERNE 


JULES  VERNE'S  WORKS. 


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"The  brig  was  tossed  about  like  a  child's  toy."  —  Page  134. 


THE 


VOYAGES  AND  ADVENTURES 


OP 


CAPTAIN    HATTERAS 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  FRENCH  OF 

JULES   VERNE. 


WITH   TWO  HUNDRED  AND   FIFTY    ILLUSTRATIONS 
BY  RIOU. 


BOSTON: 
JAMES   R.    OSGOOD   AND   COMPANY, 

Late  Ticknor  &  Fields,  and  Fields,  Osgood,  &  Co. 

1876. 


COPYIUGHT,  1874. 

By  JAMES    R.   OSGOOD  &  CO. 


University  Press  :  Welch,  Bigelow,  &  Co., 
Cambridge. 


CONTENTS. 


PART    I. 

THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE. 

Chapter  Paoe 

L   The  Forward 3 

IL   An  Unexpected  Letter 12 

in.   Dr.  Clawbonny .14 

IV.    The  Dog-Captain 22 

V.   At  Sea         .        . 29 

VI.  The  Great  Polar  Current 38 

VII.  The  Entrance  of  Davis  Strait 45 

VIII.   The  Talk  of  the  Crew 53 

IX.   Another  Letter. 63 

X.   Dangerous  Sailing 69 

XL    The  Devil's  Thumb 78 

XII.    Captain  Hatteras 86 

XIII.  The  Captain's  Plans 95 

XIV.  The  Expeditions  in  Search  of  Franklin    .        .        .  10^ 
XV.   The  Forward  driven  Southward 109 

XVI.   The  Magnetic  Pole 116 

XVII.   The  Fate  of  Sir  John  Franklin     .        .        .        .        .124 

XVIII.    The  Way  Northward .  129 

XIX.   A  Whale  in  Sight 134 

XX.    Beechey  Island 139 

XXI.    The  Death  of  Bellot 147 


M723555 


viii  CONTENTS. 

XXII.  The  First  Signs  of  Mutiny 155 

XXIII.  Attacked  by  the  Ice 161 

XXiy.  PllEPAEATIONS   FOR   WINTERING 169 

XXV.  One  of  James  Boss's  Foxes 176 

XXVI.  The  Last  Piece  of  Coal 185 

XXVI  I.  The  Great  Cold  at  Christmas      .        .        .        .        .191 

XXVIII.  Preparations  for  Departure 198 

XXIX.  Across  the  Ice-Fields 202 

XXX.  The  Cairn 211 

XXXI.  The  Death  of  Simpson 218 

XXXII.  The  Return  to  the  Forward 224 


PART    II. 

THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 

I.   The  Doctor's  Inventory 235 

11.   Altamont's  First  Words 242 

III.  Seventeen  Days  of  Land  Journey 251 

IV.  The  Last  Charge  of  Powder 258 

V.   The  Seal  and  the  Bear   . 267 

VI.   The  Porpoise 275 

VII.   A  Discussion  about  Charts 284 

VIII.    Excursion  to  the  North  of  Victoria  Bay         .        .  291 

IX.   Cold  and  Heat .        .299 

X.    The  Pleasure  of  Winter-Quarters     ....  307 

XI.    Disquieting  Traces 315 

XII.   The  Ice  Prison 324 

XIII.  The  Mine 332 

XIV.  The  Polar  Spring 341 

XV.    The  Northwest  Passage 348 


CONTENTS.  ix 

XVI.  Northern  Arcadia 357 

XVII.  Altamont's  Revenge 366 

XVII I.  The  Last  Preparations         .:....  372 

XIX.  The  Journey  Northward 377 

XX.  Footprints  on  the  Snow       .        .        .        .        .        .  386 

XXI.  The  Open  Sea 394 

XXII.  The  Approach  to  the  Pole  .        .        .        .        .        .  401 

XXIII.  The  English  Flag 408 

XXIV.  Polar  Cosmography 413 

XXV.  Mount  Hatteras 420 

XXVI.  Return  to  the  South 429 

XXVII.  Conclusion 437 


LIST  OF  FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page 
**  Johnson  knew  all  the  sailors  in  Liverpool,  and  immediately 

SET  about  engaging  A  CREW  " 16 

"Everything  was  enveloped  in  one  of  the  ordinary  fogs  of 

THAT  region  " 18 

*'  This  space  of  six  feet  square  contained  incalculable  wealth  "      23 

"The  news  spread  immediately  throughout  the  city,  and  a 

great  concourse  of  spectators  thronged  the  piers  "         .  27 

"  Towards  evening  the  brig  doubled  the  Calf  of  Man  "     .        .29 

"Would  one  not  say  it  was  a  foreign  city,  an  Eastern  city, 

with  minarets  and  mosques  in  the  moonlight  "      .        .        .50 

"  Fortunately  THE  opening  of  these  huts  was  too  small,  and 

the  enthusiastic  doctor  could  not  get  through  "         .        .       71 

"  A  STRANGE  ANIMAL  WAS  BOUNDING  ALONG  WITHIN  A  CABLE's  LENGTH 

from  the  ship  " 85 

"John  Hatteras" 95 

"He  caught  a  large  number  of  white  foxes  ;  he  had  put  on 

their  NECKS  copper  COLLARS "    .     .     ...     .     .     106 

"All  these  poor  fellows  had  died  of  misery,  suffering,  and 

starvation"       .        .  128 

"  The  brig  was  tossed  about  like  a  child's  toy  "       {Frontispiece)  134 

"  The  whale  swam  away  from  the  brig  and  hastened  towards 

THE  moving  icebergs  " 138 

"  The  Forward  IN  Wellington  Channel  " 148 

Hatteras  made  use  of  a  device  which  whalers  employ      .         153 

"A  crash  was  heard,  and  as  jt  came  against  the  starboard 

quarter,  part  of  the  rail  had  given  way  "    .        .        .        .     167 


xii  LIST  OF  FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

"  The  moon  shone  with  incomparable  purity,  glistening  on  the 

least  roughness  in  the  ice  " 180 

"Almost  every  night  the  doctor  could  observe  the  magnifi- 
cent AURORAS  " 187 

"  He  was  armed,  and  he  kept  constant  guard,  without  minding 

the  cold,  the  snow,  or  the  ice  " 195 

"The  little  band  made  their  way  towards  the  southeast "  .  202 

"The  doctor  had  energy  enough  to  ascend  an  ice-mountain 

while  the  SNOW-HUT  was  building"     .         .         .         .         .  206 

"*  Fire  :'  SHOUTED  the  captain,  discharging  HIS  pie;ce"      .        .  211 

"  They  could  only  think  of  their  perilous  position  "     .        .  218 

"  Suddenly,  with  a  last  effort,  he  half  rose  "  .        .        .        .  223 

"Then  a  terrible  explosion  was  heard"       ....  230 

"The  large  pieces  of  the  engine  lay  here  and  there,  twisted 

OUT  OF  shape" 241 

"  They  harnessed  the  tired  DOGS  " 242 

Johnson's  Story 243 

*"Yes!'  said  the  American  " 250 

"The  doctor  was  fortunate  e^'Ough  to  find  a  seal  "      .        .  258 

"  At  the  end  of  two  hours  they  fell  exhausted  "...  263 

"He  plunged  his  knife  into  the  beast's  throat"         .        .  269 

"  These  castaways  looked  at  themselves  as  colonists  who  had 

reached  their  destination " 277 

The  fort  was  completed 283 

"  I  am  not  aware  that  it  bears  any  name  on  the  most  recent 

maps" .288 

"  The  doctor  reached  the  summit  with  some  little  difficulty  "  291 

"  They  advanced  in  full  illumination,  and  their  sharply  cut 

shadows  ran  out  behind  them  over  the  snow  "...  299 

"  He  DID  HIS  BEST  TO  INSTRUCT  AND  INTEREST  HIS  COMPANIONS  "    .  308 

"  HaTTERAS   COULD  ONLY  KEEP   HIS  DISTANCE  FROM   THE   ANIMALS  BY 

THROWING  AWAY  HIS  CAP,   HATCHET,  AND  EVEN  HIS  GUN  "           .  326 

"The   BEARS    HEAPED  THE  ICE  IN   SUCH  A  WAY. AS  TO  RENDER   FLIGHT 

IMPOSSIBLE  " 330 


LIST  OF  FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS.  xiii 

"An  enormous  black  body  appeared  rx  the  gloom  of  the  room. 

Altamont  raised  his  hand  to  strike  it  "     .        .        .        .  333 

"A  loud  explosion  followed" 340 

"  The  carpenter  set  to  work  at  once  " 349 

"  a  hard  struggle  with  the  icebergs  " 354 

"  MacClURE  saw  A  MAN  RUNNING  AND  GESTICULATING"  .  .  355 

'*  The  DOCTOR,  Johnson,  and  Bell  intervened.     It  was  time  : 

THE  two  enemies  WERE  GAZING  AT  ONE  ANOTHER  ".  .  .  356 

"They  were  a  curious    and    touching    sight,   flying  about 

WITHOUT  FEAR,   RESTING  ON  ClAWBONNY's  SHOULDERS,"  ETC.    .  364 

"  Gave  him  a  terrible  blow  with  a  hatchet  on  the  head  "         .  369 

"  Well,  I 'VE  BROUGHT  back  TWO  BROTHERS  "  ....  371 

"  The  seal  struggled  for  a  few  seconds,  and  was  then  suffo- 
cated ON  the  breast  of  his  adversary  "      .        .        .        .  374 

"  They  left  AT  SIX  o'clock  IN  the  morning  " 377 

"  On  the  29th  Bell  shot  a  fox,  and  Altamont  a  medium-sized 

musk-ox"    . 383 

"The  masses  of  ice  took  the  forms  of  hummocks  and  icebergs"  384 

"  On  all  sides  resounded  the  cracking  of  the  ice  amid  the  roar 

of  the  avalanches " 384 

**  We  ought,"  ANSWERED  BeLL,    "  TO  LIGHT  TORCHES,  AS  IS  DONE   AT 

London  AND  Liverpool" 386 

The  hut  was  pitched  in  a  ravine  for  shelter      ....  390 

"Three  hours  later  they  reached  the  coast.     'The  sea  !  the 

SEA  ! '  they  all  shouted  " 392 

"  They  climbed  a  hill  which  commanded  a  wide  view  "  .        .  392 

"The  launch  was  rocking  gently  in  her  little  harbor "   .        .  393 

"  Aquatic  BIRDS  OF  ALL  sorts  were  there  "         ....  397 
"Then  the  eye  glancing  down  into  the  transparent  water, 

the  sight  was  equally  strange  " 398 

"  *  It  's  A  volcano  ! '  he  cried  " 401 

"  The  launch  tossed  helplessly  about  " 404 

"  The  FOG  without  lifting  WAS  VERY  BRIGHT  "  ....  405 

"This  drifting  floe  was  covered  with  white  bears,  crowded 

together" 406 


xiv  LIST  OF  FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

**  Her  sail  flew  away  like  a  .huge  white  bird  ;  a  whirlpool,  a 

NEW  Maelstrom,  formed  among  the  waves  "...  407 

"  The  mountain  WAS  IN  FULL  ERUPTION  " 409 

"  They  NOTICED  A  little  FIORD  " 410 

"  AlTAMONT  SOON  FOUND  A  grotto  IN  the  ROCKS  "      ....  412 

"They  WERE  ALL  READY  TO  listen  TO  the  doctor"     .        .        .  413 

"They  saw  the  captain  standing  on  a  rock "      ....  421 

"  Hatteras  appeared  to  wake  from  his  revery"     .        .         .  421 

"  The  doctor  put  UP  A  CAIRN  "  . 429 

"  Dead  —  FROZEN  " 435 

"  But  Hatteras  did  not  look  back.     He  had  made  use  of  his 

staff  as  a  pole  on  which  to  fasten  the  english  flag  "     .  437 

"Two   HOURS    later,    after  unheard-of  efforts,    the   last    MEN 

OF  the  Forward  were  taken  aboard  the  Danish  whaler 

Hans  Christian  " 438 

"  A  STEAMBOAT  carried  THEM  to  Kiel  " 438 


PAET  I. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE. 


THE    FORWARD. 

*'  To-morrow,  at  the  turn  of  the  tide,  the  brig  Forward,  K.  Z., 
captain,  Richard  Shandon,  mate,  will  clear  from  New  Prince's 
Docks ;  destination  unknown." 

This  announcement  appeared  in  the  Liverpool  Herald  of  April 
5,  1860. 

The  sailing  of  a  brig  is  not  a  matter  of  great  importance  for 
the  chief  commercial  city  of  England.  Who  would  take  notice 
of  it  in  so  great  a  throng  of  ships  of  all  sizes  and  of  every  country, 
that  drj^-docks  covering  two  leagues  scarcely  contain  them  ? 

Nevertheless,  from  early  morning  on  the  6th  of  April,  a  large 
crowd  collected  on  the  quays  of  the  New  Prince's  Docks  ;  all  the 
sailors  of  the  place  seemed  to  have  assembled  there.  The  work- 
ingmen  of  the  neighboring  wharves  had  abandoned  their  tasks, 
tradesmen  had  left  their  gloomy  shops,  and  the  merchants  their 
empty  warehouses.  The  many-colored  omnibuses  which  pass  out- 
side of  the  docks  were  discharging,  every  minute,  their  load  of 


4  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

sight-seers;  the  whole   city  seemed  to  care  for  nothing  except 
watching  the  departure  of  the  Forward. 

The  Forward  was  a  vessel  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  tons, 
rigged  as  a  brig,  and  carrying  a  screw  and  a  steam-engine  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  horse-power.  One  would  have  very  easily 
confounded  it  with  the  other  brigs  in  the  harbor.  But  if  it  pre- 
sented no  especial  difference  to  the  eye  of  the  public,  yet  those 
who  were  familiar  with  ships  noticed  certain  peculiarities  which 
could  not  escape  a  sailor's  keen  glance. 


Thus,  on  the  Nautilus,  which  was  lying  at  anchor  near  her,  a 
group  of  sailors  were  trying  to  make  out  tlie  probable  destination 
of  the  Forward. 

"  What  do  you  say  to  her  masts  ?  "  said  one ;  "  steamers  don't 
usually  carry  so  much  sail." 

"  It  must  be,"  answered  a  red-faced  quartermaster,  "  that  she 
relies  more  on  her  sails  than  on  her  engine  ;  and  if  her  topsails  are 
of  that  size,  it  's  probably  because  the  lower  sails  are  to  be  laid 
back.  So  I  'm  sure  the  Forward  is  going  either  to  the  Arctic  or 
Antarctic  Ocean,  where  tlie  icebergs  stop  the  wind  more  than  suits 
a  solid  ship." 

"  You  must  be  right,  Mr.  Comhill,"  said  a  third  sailor.  *'  Do 
you  notice  how  straight  her  stem  is  % " 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  5 

"  Besides,"  said  Mr.  Cornhill,  "  she  carries  a  steel  ram  forward, 
as  sharp  as  a  razor ;  if  the  Forward,  going  at  full  speed,  should 
run  into  a  three-decker,  she  would  cut  her  in  two." 

"  That  's  true,"  answered  a  Mersey  pilot,  "  for  that  brig  can 
easily  run  fourteen  knots  under  steam.  She  was  a  sight  to  see  on 
her  trial  trip.     On  my  word,  she  's  a  swift  boat." 

"  And  she  goes  well,  too,  under  sail,"  continued  the  quarter- 
master ;  "  close  to  the  wind,  and  she  's  easily  steered.  Now  that 
ship  is  going  to  the  polar  seas,  or  my  name  is  not  Cornhill.  And 
then,  see  there  !  Do  you  notice  that  large  helm-port  over  the 
head  of  her  rudder  1 " 

"  That  's  so,"  said  some  of  the  sailors ;  "  but  what  does  that 
prove ] " 

"That  proves,  my  men,"  replied  the  quartermaster  with  a 
scornful  smile,  "that  you  can  neither  see  nor  think;  it  proves 
that  they  wanted  to  leave  the  head  of  the  rudder  free,  so  that  it 
might  be  unshipped  and  shipped  again  easily.  Don't  you  know 
that  's  what  they  have  to  do  very  often  in  the  ice  % " 

"  You  are  right,"  answered  the  sailors  of  the  Nautilus. 

"  And  besides,"  said  one,  *'  the  lading  of  the  brig  goes  to  prove 
what  Mr.  Cornhill  has  said.  I  heard  it  from  Clifton,  who  has 
shipped  on  her.  The  Forward  carries  provisions  for  five  or  six 
years,  and  coal  in  proportion.  Coal  and  provisions  are  all  she 
carries,  and  a  quantity  of  woollen  and  sealskin  clothing." 

"  Well,"  said  Mr.  Cornhill,  "  there  's  no  doubt  about  it.  But, 
my  friend,  since  you  know  Clifton,  has  n't  he  told  you  where 
she  's  bound  %  " 

"  He  could  n't  tell  me,  for  he  did  n't  know ;  the  whole  crew 
was  shipped  in  that  way.  Where  is  he  going  %  He  won't  know 
till  he  gets  there." 

"  Nor  yet  if  they  are  going  to  Davy  Jones's  locker,"  said  one 
scoffer,  "  as  it  seems  to  me  they  are." 

"  But  then,  their  pay,"  continued  the  friend  of  Clifton  enthu- 
siastically, —  "  their  pay  !  it  's  five  times  what  a  sailor  usually 
gets.  If  it  had  not  been  for  that,  Richard  Shandon  would  not 
have  got  a  man.  A  strangely  shaped  boat,  going  no  one  knows 
where,  and  as  if  it  never  intended  coming  back  !  As  for  me,  I 
should  not  have  cared  to  ship  in  her." 


6  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

"Whether  you  would  or  not,"  answered  Mr.  Cornhill,    "you 
could  never  have  shipped  in  the  Forward.'^ 
"Why  notl" 

"  Because  you  would  not  have  answered  the  conditions.  I 
heard  that  married  men  were  not  taken.  Now  you  belong  to 
that  class.  So  you  need  not  say  what  you  would  or  would  not 
do,  since  it  's  all  breath  thrown  away." 

The  sailor  who  was  thus  snubbed  burst  out  laughing,  as  did 
his  companions,  showing  in  this  way  that  Mr.  Cornhill's  remarks 
were  true. 

"  There  's  nothing  but  boldness 
about  the  ship,"  continued  Cornhill, 
well  pleased  with  himself.  "  The  For- 
ward, —  forward  to  what  *?  Without 
saying  that  nobody  knows  who  her 
captain  is." 

"  0,  yes,  they  do ! "  said  a  young 
sailor,  evidently  a  green-hand. 
"  What  !     They  do  know  1 " 
"  Of  course." 

"  My  young  friend,"  said  Cornhill, 
"  do  you  think  Shandon  is  the  captain  of  the  Forward  ?  " 
"  Why  —  "  answered  the  boy. 

"  Shandon  is  only  the  mate,  nothing  else  ;  he  's  a  good  and 
brave  sailor,  an  old  whaler,  a  good  fellow,  able  to  take  command, 
but  he  's  not  the  captain  ;  he  's  no  more  captain  than  you  or  I. 
And  who,  under  God,  is  going  to  have  charge  of  the  ship,  he 
does  not  know  in  the  least.  At  the  proper  time  the  captain  will 
come  aboard,  I  don't  know  how,  and  I  don't  know  where ;  for 
Richard  Shandon  did  n't  tell  me,  nor  has  he  leave  to  tell  me  in 
what  direction  he  was  first  to  sail." 

"  Still,  Mr.  Cornhill,"  said  the  young  sailor,  "  I  can  tell  you 
that  there  's  some  one  on  board,  some  one  who  was  spoken  of  in 
the  letter  in  which  Mr.  Shandon  was  offered  the  place  of  mate." 

"  What ! "  answered  Cornhill,  "  do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that 
the  Forward  has  a  captain  on  board  1 " 
"Yes,  Mr.  Cornhill." 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 

''  You  tell  me  that  1 " 

"  Certainly,  for  1  heard  it  from  Johnson,  the  boatswain." 

"  Boatswain  Johnson  ] " 

"  Yes,  he  told  me  himself." 

"  Johnson  told  you  1 " 

"  Not  only  did  he  tell  me,  but  he  showed  him  to  me." 

"  He  showed  him  to  you  !  "  answered  Cornhill  in  amazement. 


*'  He  showed  him  to  me." 

"  And  you  saw  himV 

"  I  saw  him  with  my  own  eyes." 

"And  who  is  it  r' 

"  It 's  a  dog." 

-Adogr' 


8  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"  A  four-footed  dog  r' 

"  Yes." 

The  surprise  of  the  sailors  of  the  Nautilus  was  great.  Under 
any  other  circumstances  they  would  have  burst  out  laughing. 
A  dog  captain  of  a  one  hundred  and  seventy  ton  brig  !  It  was 
certainly  amusing  enough.  But  the  Forward  was  such  an  extraor- 
dinary ship,  that  one  thought  twice  before  laughing,  and  before 
contradicting  it.  Besides,  Quartermaster  Cornhill  showed  no  signs 
of  laughing. 

"  And  Johnson  showed  you  that  new  sort  of  captain,  a  dog  ] " 
he  said  to  the  young  sailor.      "  And  you  saw  himl" 

"  As  plainly  as  I  see  you,  with  all  respect." 

"  Well,  what  do  you  think  of  that  1 "  asked  the  sailors,  turning 
to  Cornhill. 

"  I  don't  think  anything,"  he  answered  curtly,  "  except  that 
the  Forward  is  a  ship  of  the  Devil,  or  of  fools  fit  for  Bedlam." 

Without  saying  more,  the  sailors  continued  to  gaze  at  the  For- 
ward, which  was  now  almost  ready  to  depart ;  and  there  was  no 
one  of  them  who  presumed  to  say  that  Johnson,  the  boatswain, 
had  been  making  fun  of  the  young  sailor. 

This  story  of  the  dog  had  already  spread  through  the  city,  and 
in  the  crowd  of  sight-seers  there  were  many  looking  for  the  cap- 
tain-dog, who  were  inclined  to  believe  that  he  was  some  super- 
natural animal. 

Besides,  for  many  months  the  Forward  had  been  attracting 
the  public  attention ;  the  singularity  of  its  build,  the  mystery 
which  enshrouded  it,  the  incognito  maintained  by  the  captain, 
the  manner  in  which  Richard  Shandon  received  the  proposition 
of  superintending  its  outfit,  the  careful  selection  of  the  crew,  its 
unknown  destination,  scarcely  conjectured  by  anj^,  —  all  com- 
bined to  give  this  brig  a  reputation  of  something  more  than 
strangeness. 

For  a  thoughtful,  dreamy  mind,  for  a  philosopher,  there  is 
hardly  anything  more  touching  than  the  departure  of  a  ship  ;  the 
imagination  is  ready  to  follow  her  in  her  struggles  with  the 
waves,  her  contests  with  the  winds,  in  her  perilous  course,  which 
does  not  always  end  in  port ;  and  if  only  there  is  something  un- 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  9 

usual  about  her,  the  ship  appears  like  something  fantastic,  even 
to  the  least  imaginative  minds. 

So  it  was  with  the  Forward.  And  if  most  of  the  spectators 
were  unable  to  make  the  ingenious  remarks  of  Quartermaster 
Cornhill,  the  rumors  which  had  been  prevailing  for  three  months 
were  enough  to  keep  all  the  tongues  of  Liverpool  busy. 

The  brig  had  been  built  at  Birkenhead,  a  suburb  of  the  city  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Mersey,  and  connected  with  it  by  numerous 
ferry-boats. 

The  builders,  Scott  &  Co.,  as  skilful  as  any  in  England,  had 
received  from  Richard  Shandon  careful  plans  and  drawings,  in 
which  the  tonnage,  dimensions,  and  model  of  the  brig  were  given 
with  the  utmost  exactness.  They  bore  proof  of  the  work  of  an 
experienced  sailor.  Since  Shandon  had  ample  means  at  his  com- 
mand, the  work  began,  and,  in  accordance  with  the  orders  of  the 
unknown  owner,  proceeded  rapidly. 

Every  care  was  taken  to  have  the  brig  made  exceedingly 
strong ;  it  was  evidently  intended  to  withstand  enormous  press- 
ure, for  its  ribs  of  teak,  an  East  Indian  wood  remarkable  for  its 
solidity,  were  further  strengthened  by  thick  iron  braces.  The 
sailors  used  to  ask  why  the  hull  of  a  ship,  which  was  intended  to 
be  so  strong,  was  not  made  of  iron  like  other  steamers.  But 
they  were  told  that  the  mysterious  designer  had  his  own  reasons 
for  having  it  built  in  that  way. 

Gradually  the  shape  of  the  brig  on  the  stocks  could  be  clearly 
made  out,  and  the  strength  and  beauty  of  her  model  were  clear 
to  the  eye  of  all  competent  judges.  As  the  sailors  of  the  Nauti- 
lus had  said,  her  stem  formed  a  right  angle  with  the  keel,  and 
she  carried,  not  a  ram,  but  a  steel  cutter  from  the  foundry  of 
R.  Hawthorn,  of  Newcastle.  This  metallic  prow,  glistening  in  the 
sun,  gave  a  singular  appearance  to  the  brig,  although  there  was 
nothing  warlike  about  it.  However,  a  sixteen-pound  gun  was 
placed  on  her  forecastle ;  its  carriage  was  so  arranged  that  it 
could  be  pointed  in  any  direction.  The  same  thing  can  be  said 
of  the  cannon  as  of  her  bows,  neither  were  positively  warlike. 

On  the  5th  of  February,  1860,  this  strange  vessel  was  success- 
fully launched  in  the  sight  of  an  immense  number  of  spectators. 
1* 


10  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

But  if  the  brig  was  not  a  man-of-war,  nor  a  merchant-vessel, 
nor  a  pleasure-yacht,  for  no  one  takes  a  pleasure  trip  with  pro- 
visions for  six  years  in  the  hold,  what  could  she  be  ^ 


A  ship  intended  for  the  search  of  the  Erehus  and  the  Terror, 
and  of  Sir  John  Franklin  1  No;  for  in  1859,  the  previous  year, 
Captain  MacClintock  had  returned  from  the  Arctic  Ocean,  with 
convincing  proof  of  the  loss  of  that  ill-fated  expedition. 

Did  the  Forward  want  to  try  again  the  famous  Northwest 
Passage?  What  for]  Captain  MacClure  had  discovered  it  in 
1853,  and  his  lieutenant,  Cresswell,  had  the  honor  of  first  skirt- 
ing the  American  continent  from  Behring  Strait  to  Davis  Strait. 

It  was  nevertheless  absolutely  certain  to  all  competent  observ- 
ers that  the  Forward  was  preparing  for  a  voyage  to  icy  regions. 
Was  it  going  to  push  towards  the  South  Pole,  fixrther  than  the 
whaler  Wedell,  farther  thati  Captain  James  Ross  %  But  what  was 
the  use,  and  with  what  intention  ? 

It  is  easy  to  see  that,  although  the  field  for  conjecture  was 
very  limited,  the  imagination  could  easily  lose  itself. 

The  day  after  the  launching  of  the  brig  her  machinery  arrived 
from  the  foundry  of  R.  Hawthorn  at  Newcastle. 

The  engine,  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  horse-power,  with 
oscillating  cylinders,  took  up  but  little  space ;  its  force  was  large 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  H 

for  a  vessel  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  tons,  which  carried  a 
great  deal  of  sail,  and  was,  besides,  remarkably  swift.  Of  her 
speed  the  trial  trips  left  no  doubt,  and  even  the  boatswain,  John- 
son, had  seen  fit  to  express  his  opinion  to  the  friend  of  Clifton  in 
these  terms,  — 

"When  the  Forward  is  under  both  steam  and  sail,  she  gets 

« 
the  most  speed  from  her  sails." 

Clifton's  friend  had  not  understood  this  proposition,  but  he  con- 
sidered anything  possible  in  a  ship  commanded  by  a  dog. 

After  the  engines  had  been  placed  on  board,  the  stowage  of 
provisions  began ;  and  that  was  no  light  task,  for  she  carried 
enough  for  six  years.  They  consisted  of  salted  and  dried  meats, 
smoked  fish,  biscuit,  and  flour ;  mountains  of  coffee  and  tea  were 
deposited  in  the  store-room.  Richard  Shandon  superintended 
the  arrangement  of  this  precious  cargo  with  the  air  of  a  man 
who  perfectly  understood  his  business ;  everything  was  put  in  its 
place,  labelled,  and  numbered  with  perfect  precision ;  at  the  same 
time  there  was  stowed  away  a  large  quantity  of  pemmican,  an 
Indian  preparation,  which  contains  a  great  deal  of  nutriment  in  a 
small  compass. 

This  sort  of  suppty  left  no  doubt  as  to  the  length  of  the  cruise ; 
but  an  experienced  observer  would  have  known  at  once  that  the 
Forward  was  to  sail  in  polar  waters,  from  the  barrels  of  lime- 
juice,  of  lime  lozenges,  of  bundles  of  mustard,  sorrel,  and  of  cocli- 
learia,  —  in  a  word,  from  the  abundance  of  powerful  antiscorbutics, 
which  are  so  necessary  in  journeys  in  the  regions  of  the  far  north 
and  south.  Shandon  had  doubtless  received  word  to  take  partic- 
ular care  about  this  part  of  the  cargo,  for  he  gave  to  it  especial 
attention,  as  well  as  to  the  ship's  

sel    was  small  enough   to  calm      Sf^^^S^^^^Hn^li^ 
hand,   the  magazine    was   filled      a*igS^^5gj|i|^^ 

some    uneasiness.      The    single  ■■ — — 

gun  on  the  forecastle  could  not  pretend  to  require  so  large  a 


12 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


supply.  This  excited  curiosity.  There  were,  besides,  enormous 
saws  and  strong  machinery,  such  as  levers,  masses  of  lead,  hand- 
saws, huge  axes,  etc.,  without  counting  a  respectable  number 
of  blasting-cylinders,  which  might  have  blown  up  the  Liverpool 
custom-house.  All  this  was  strange,  if  not  alarming,  not  to  men- 
tion the  rockets,  signals,  lights,  and  lanterns  of  every  sort. 

Then,  too,  the  numerous  spectators  on  the  quays  of  the  New 
Prince's  Docks  gazed  with  admiration  at  a  long  mahogany  whale- 
boat,  a  tin  canoe  covered  with  gutta-percha,  and  a  number  of  hal- 
kett-boats,  which  are  a  sort  of  india-rubber  cloaks,  which  can  be 
inflated  and  thereby  turned  into  canoes.  Every  one  felt  more 
and  more  puzzled,  and  even  excited,  for  with  the  turn  of  the  tide 
the  Forward  was  to  set  sail  for  its  unknown  destination. 


CHAPTER    II. 


AN    UNEXPECTED    LETTEH. 


This  is  a  copy  of  the  letter  received  by  Richard  Shandon  eight 
months  previously  :  — • 

Aberdeen,  August  2,  1859. 
Mr.  Richard  Shandon,  Liverpool. 
Sir,  —  This  letter  is  to  advise  you  of  a  remittance  of  ^16,000,  de- 
posited with  Messrs.  Marcuart  & 
Co.,  bankers,  at  Liverpool.  En- 
closed you  will  find  a  series  of 
drafts,  signed  by  me,  which  will 
enable  you  to  draw  upon  Messrs. 
Marcuart  &  Co^  ta  the  amount 
mentioned  above. 

You  do  not  know  me.     N"o  mat- 
ter ;  I  know  yo^x,  and  that  is  enough. 
I  offer  you  the  position  of  mate  on  board  of  the  brig  Forward,  for  a 
Voyage  which  may  be  long  and  perilous. 

If  you  decline,  well  and  good.  If  you  accept,  five  hundred  pounds 
will  be  assigned  you  as  salary,  and  at  the  end  of  each  year  of  the  voyage 
your  pay  will  be  increased  one  tenth. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE. 


13 


The  brig  Forward  does  not  exist.  You  will  be  obliged  to  have  it 
built  so  that  it  will  be  possible  to  set  to  sea  in  the  beginning  of  April, 
1860,  at  the  latest.  Enclosed  is  a  drawing  with  estimates.  You  will 
follow  them  exactly.  The  ship  will  be  built  in  the  stocks  of  Scott  & 
Co.,  who  will  arrange  everything  with  you. 

I  beg  of  you  to  be  specially  cautious  in  selecting  the  crew  of  the 
Forward ;  it  will  consist  of  a  captain  (myself),  a  mate  (you),  a  second 
mate,  a  boatswain,  two  engineers,  an  ice-master,  eight  sailors,  two 
stokers,  in  all  eighteen  men,  including  Dr.  Clawbonny  of  this  city,  who 
will  join  you  at  the  proper  time. 

Those  who  are  shipped  on  board  of  the  Forward  must  be  English- 
men, independent,  with  no  family  ties,  single  and  temperate  ;  for  the  use 
of  spirits,  and  even  of  beer,  will  be  strictly  forbidden  on  shipboard  : 
the  men  must  be  ready  to  undertake  and  endure  everything. 

In  your  selection  you  will  prefer  those  of  a  sanguine  temperament, 
and  so  inclined  to  maintain  a  higher  degree  of  animal  heat. 

You  will  offer  the  crew  five  times  their  usual  pay,  to  be  increased 
one  tenth  at  the  end  of  each  year.  At  the  end  of  the  voyage  each  one 
shall  receive  five  hundred  pounds,  and  you  yourself  two  thousand. 
The  requisite  sum  shall  be  deposited  with  the  above-named  Messrs. 
Marcuart  &  Co. 

The  voyage  will  be  long  dnd  difficult,  but  one  sure  to  bring  renown. 
You  need  not  hesitate,  then,  Mr.  Shandon. 

Send  your  answer  to  the  initials  K,  Z.,  at  Gottenburg,  Sweden, 
poste  restante. 


14  THE  ADVENTURES   OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

P.  S.  On  the  15th  of  February  next  you  will  receive  a  large  Dan- 
ish dog,  with  hanging  lips,  of  a  dark  tawny  color,  with  black  stripes 
running  crosswise.  You  will  find  place  for  him  on  board,  and  you  will 
feed  him  on  barley  bread  mixed  with  a  broth  of  lard.  You  will  ac- 
knowledge the  receipt  of  this  dog  by  a  letter  to  the  same  initials  at 
Leghorn,  Italy. 

The  captain  of  the  Forward  will  appear  and  make  himself  known 
at  the  proper  time.  As  you  are  about  setting  sail  you  will  receive  new 
instructions.  xr-  ^ 

Captain  of  the  Forward. 


CHAPTER    III. 

DR.    CLAWBONNY. 

Richard  Shandon  was  a  good  sailor;  for  a  long  time  he  had 
commanded  whalers  in  the  Arctic  seas,  with  a  well-deserved  repu- 
tation throughout  all  Lancaster.  Such  a  letter  was  well  calcu- 
lated to  astonish  him ;  he  was  astonished,  it  is  true,  but  with  the 
calmness  of  a  man  who  is  accustomed  to  surprises. 

He  suited  all  the  required  conditions ;  lio  wife,  child,  nor  rela- 
tives. He  was  as  independent  as  man  could  be.  There  being  no 
one  whose  opinion  he  needed  to  consult,  he  betook  himself  to 
Messrs.  Marcuart  &  Co. 

"  If  the  money  is  there,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  the  rest  is  all 
right." 

At  the  banking-house  he  was  received  with  the  respect  due  to 
a  man  who  has  sixteen  thousand  pounds  deposited  to  his  credit ; 
having  made  that  point  sure,  Shandon  asked  for  a  sheet  of  white 
paper,  and  in  his  large  sailor's  handwriting  he  sent  his  accept- 
ance of  the  plan  to  the  address  given  above. 

That  very  day  he  made  the  necessary  arrangements  with  the 
builders  at  Birkenhead,  and  within  twenty-four  hours  the  keel  of 
the  Forward  was  laid  on  the  stocks. 

Richard  Shandon  was  a  man  about  forty  years  old,  strong,  en- 
ergetic, and  fearless,  three  qualities  most  necessary  for  a  sailor,  for 
they  give  him  confidence,  vigor,  and  coolness.     He  was  known  to 


Johnson  knew  all  the  sailors  in  Liverpool,  and  immediately  set  about  engaging 
a  crew."  —  Page  i6. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  I5 

be  severe  and  very  hard  to  please ;  hence  he  was  more  feared 
than  loved  by  his  men.  But  this  reputation  was  not  calculated  to 
interfere  with  his  selection  of  a  crew,  for  he  was  known  to  be  skil- 
ful in  avoiding  trouble. 

Shandon  feared  that  the  mysterious  nature  of  the  expedition 
might  stand  in  his  way. 

"  In  that  case,"  he  said,  "  it 's  best  not  to  say  anything  about 
it ;  there  will  always  be  plenty  of  men  who  will  want  to  know  the 
why  and  the  wherefore  of  the  whole  matter,  and,  since  I  don't 
know  anything  about  it  myself,  I  should  find  it  hard  to  answer 
them.  This  K.  Z.  is  certainly  an  odd  stick ;  but,  after  all,  he 
knows  me,  he  depends  on  me,  and  that  is  enough.  As  for  his 
ship,  it  will  be  a  good  one,  and  if  it 's  not  going  to  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  my  name  is  not  Richard  Shandon.  But  I  shall  keep  that 
fact  for  myself  and  my  officers." 

Thereupon  Shandon  began  to  choose  his  crew,  bearing  in  mind 
the  captain's  wishes  about  the  independence  and  health  of  the 
men. 

He  knew  a  very  capital  fellow,  and  a  good  sailor,  James  Wall 
by  name.  Wall  might  have  been  about  thirty  years  old,  and 
had  already  made  some  voyages  in  the  north- 
ern seas.  Shandon  offered  him  the  place  of 
second  mate,  and  Wall  accepted  it  at  once ; 
all  he  cared  for  was  to  be  at  sea.  Shandon 
confided  all  the  details  of  the  affair  to  him 
and  to  a  certain  Johnson,  whom  he  took  as 
boatswain. 

"All  right,"  answered  James  Wall,  "that 's 

as  good  as  anything.     Even  if  it 's  to  seek  the 

Northwest    Passage,    some   have    come    back 

from  that." 

"  Not  all,"  said  Johnson,  *'  but  that 's  no  reason  that  we  should 

not  try  it." 

*'  Besides,  if  our  guesses  are  right,"  said  Shandon,  *'  it  must  be 
said  that  we  start  with  a  fair  chance  of  success.  The  Forward 
will  be  a  stanch  ship  and  she  will  carry  good  engines.  She  can 
go  a  great  distance.     We  want  a  crew  of  only  eighteen  men." 


16  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"  Eighteen  men,"  answered  Johnson  ;  "  that 's  the  number  the 
American,  Kane,  took  with  him  on  his  famous  voyage  towards  the 
North  Pole." 

"  It 's  strange,"  said  Wall,  "  that  a  private  person  should  try  to 
make  his  way  from  Davis  Strait  to  Behring  Strait.  The  expedi- 
tions in  search  of  Sir  John  Franklin  have  already  cost  England 
more  than  seven  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  pounds,  without 
producing  any  practical  good.  Who  in  the  world  wants  to  throw 
away  his  money  for  such  a  purpose  1 " 

"  In  the  first  place,  James,"  answered  Shandon,  "  we  are  in  the 
dark  about  it  all.  I  don't  know  whether  we  are  going  to  the 
northern  or  the  southern  seas.  Perhaps  there  's  some  new  dis- 
covery to  be  tried.  At  any  rate,  some  day  or  other  a  Dr.  Claw- 
bonny  is  to  come  aboard  who  will  probably  know  more  about  it 
and  will  be  able  to  tell  us.     We  shall  see." 

"  Let  us  wait,  then,"  said  Johnson ;  "  as  for  me,  I  'm  going  to 
look  after  some  good  men,  and  I  '11  answer  now  for  their  animal 
heat,  as  the  captain  calls  it.     You  can  depend  on  me." 

Johnson  was  an  invaluable  man  ;  he  was  familiar  with  high 
latitudes.  He  had  been  quartermaster  aboard  of  the  Phoenix, 
which  belonged  to  one  of  the  expeditions  sent  out  in  1853  in 
search  of  Franklin  ;  he  had  been  an  eye-witness  of  the  death  of 
the  French  lieutenant  Bellot,  whom  he  had  accompanied  in  his 
expedition  across  the  ice.  Johnson  knew  all  the  sailors  in  Liver- 
pool, and  immediately  set  about  engaging  a  crew. 

Shandon,  Wall,  and  he  succeeded  in  filling  the  number  by  the 
middle  of  December,  but  they  met  with  considerable  difficulty ; 
many  who  were  attracted  by  the  high  pay  were  alarmed  by  the 
danger,  and  more  than  one  who  had  boldly  enlisted  came  later  to 
say  that  he  had  changed  his  mind  on  account  of  the  dissuasion  of 
his  friends.  They  all  tried  to  pierce  the  mystery,  and  pursued  Shan- 
don with  their  questions.     He  used  to  refer  them  to  Johnson. 

"  What  can  I  say,  my  man  ? "  the  boatswain  used  to  answer ; 
"  I  don't  know  any  more  about  it  than  you  do.  At  any  rate  you 
will  be  in  good  company,  with  men  who  won't  shirk  their  work ; 
that 's  something  !  So  don't  be  thinking  about  it  all  day  :  take 
it  or  leave  it !  "     And  the  greater  number  took  it. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  17 

"  You  understand,"  added  Johnson,  sometimes,  "  my  only 
trouble  is  in  making  my  choice.  High  pay,  such  as  no  sailor 
ever  had  before,  with  the  certainty  of  finding  a  round  sum  when 
we  get  back.     That 's  very  tempting." 

"  The  fact  is,"  answered  the  sailors,  "  that  it  is  hard  to  refuse. 
It  will  support  a  man  all  the  rest  of  his  life." 

"  I  won't  hide  from  you,"  continued  Johnson,  "  that  the  voyage 
will  be  long,  difficult,  and  dangerous ;  that 's  all  stated  in  our  in- 
structions ;  it 's  well  to  know  beforehand  what  one  undertakes  to 
do ;  probably  it 's  to  try  all  that  men  can  possibly  do,  and  per- 
haps even  more.  So,  if  you  have  n't  got  a  bold  heart  and  a  strong 
body,  if  you  can't  say  you  have  more  than  twenty  chances  to  one 
of  staying  there,  if,  in  short,  you  are  particular  about  leaving 
your  body  in  one  place  more  than  another,  here  rather  than 
there,  get  away  from  here  and  let  some  bolder  man  have  your 
place  !  " 

"  But,  at  least,"  said  the  confused  sailor,  —  "  at  least,  yovx  know 
the  captain  ] " 

"  The  captain  is  Richard  Shandon,  my  friend,  until  we  receive 
another." 

Now  it  must  be  said  that  was  what  the  commander  thought ; 
he  allowed  himself  to  think  that  at  the  last  moment  he  would  re- 
ceive definite  instructions  as  to  the  object  of  the  voyage,  and  that 
he  would  remain  in  command  of  the  Forivard.  He  w^as  fond  of 
spreading  this  opinion  about,  either  in  conversation  with  his  offi- 
cers or  in  superintending  the  building  of  the  brig,  of  which  the 
timbers  were  now  rising  in  the  Birkenhead  ship-yard  like  the 
sides  of  a  huge  whale. 

Shandon  and  Johnson  conformed  strictly  with»  the  recommen- 
dation about  the  health  of  the  crew ;  they  all  looked  hardy  and 
possessed  enough  animal  heat  to  run  the  engines  of  the  Forward; 
their  elastic  limbs,  their  clear  and  ruddy  skin,  showed  that  they 
were  fit  to  encounter  intense  cold.  They  were  bold,  determined 
men,  energetic  and  stoutly  Vmilt ;  they  were  not  all  equally  vig- 
orous. Shandon  had  even  hesitated  about  accepting  some  of 
them ;  for  instance,  the  sailors  Gripper  and  Garry,  and  the  har- 
pooner  Simpson,  who  seemed  to  him  too  thin  ;  but,  on  the  other 

B 


18  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  H ATT  ERAS. 

hand,  they  were  well  built,  they  were  earnest  about  it,  and  they 
were  shipped. 

All  the  crew  were  members  of  the  same  church  ;  in  their  long 
voyage  their  prayers  and  the  reading  of  the  Bible  would  call  them 
together  and  console  them  in  the  hours  of  depression  ;  so  that  it 
was  advisable  that  there  should  be  no  diversity  on  this  score. 
Shandon  knew  from  experience  the  usefulness  of  this  practice 
and  its  good  influence  on  the  men,  so  valuable  that  it  is  never 
neglected  on  board  of  ships  which  winter  in  the  polar  seas. 

When  all  the  crew  had  been  engaged,  Shandon  and  his  two  offi- 
cers busied  themselves  with  the  provisions  ;  they  followed  closely 
the  captain's  instructions,  which  were  definite,  precise,  and  de- 
tailed, in  which  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the  smallest  articles 
were  clearly  set  down.  Thanks  to  the  drafts  placed  at  the  com- 
mander's order,  every  article  was  paid  for,  cash  down,  with  a  dis- 
count of  eight  per  cent,  which  Kichard  carefully  placed  to  the 
credit  of  K.  Z. 

Crew,  provisions,  and  outfit  w^ere  all  ready  in  January,  1860  ; 
the  Forward  was  approaching  completion.  Shandon  never  let  a 
day  pass  without  visiting  Birkenhead. 

On  the  morning  of  the  23d  of  January  he  was,  as  usual,  on 
one  of  the  double-ended  ferry-boats  which  ply  between  the  two 
shores  of  the  Mersey  ;  everything  was  enveloped  in  one  of  the  or- 
dinary fogs  of  that  region,  which  compel  the  pilot  to  steer  by  com- 
pass, although  the  trip  is  one  of  but  ten  minutes. 

However,  the  thickness  of  the  fog  could  not  prevent  Shandon 
from  noticing  a  short,  rather  stout  man,  with  a  refined,  agreeable 
face  and  pleasant  expression,  who  came  towards  him,  seized  both 
his  hands,  and  pressed  them  with  a  warmth  and  familiarity  which 
a  Frenchman  would  have  said  was  "  very  southern." 

But  if  this  stranger  was  not  from  the  South,  he  had  escaped  it 
narrowly  ;  he  spoke  and  gesticulated  freely  ;  his  thoughts  seemed 
determined  to  find  expression,  even  if  they  had  to  burst  out.  His 
eyes,  small  like  the  eyes  of  witty  men,  his  large  and  mobile  mouth, 
were  safety-valves  which  enabled  him  to  rid  himself  of  too  strong 
a  pressure  on  his  feelings ;  he  talked ;  and  he  talked  so  much  and 
joyously,  that,  it  must  be  said,  Shandon  could  not  make  out  what 
he  was  saying. 


/Everything  was  enveloped  in  one  of  the  ordinary  fogs  of  that  region."  —  Page 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  19 

Still  the  mate  of  the  Forward  was  not  slow  in  recognizing  this 
short  man  whom  he  had  never  seen  ;  it 
flashed  into  his  mind,  and  the  moment 
that  the  other  stopped   to  take  breath, 
Shandon  uttered  these  words,  — 

"Dr.  Clawbonnyr' 

"  The  same,  in  person,  Commander ! 
For  nearly  a  quarter  of  an  hour  I  have 
been  looking  after  you,  asking  for  you  of 
every  one  and  everywhere.  Imagine  my 
impatience.  Five  minutes  more  and  I 
should  have  lost  my  head  !  So  this  is  you,  officer  Shandon  %  You 
really  exist  1  You  are  not  a  myth  %  Your  hand,  your  hand  !  Let 
me  press  it  again  in  mine  !  Yes,  that  is  indeed  the  hand  of  Rich- 
ard Shandon.  Now,  if  there  is  a  commander  Richard,  there  is  a 
brig  Forward  which  he  commands  ;  and  if  he  commands  it,  it  will 
sail ;  and  if  it  sails,  it  will  take  Dr.  Clawbonny  on  board." 

"  Well,  yes,  Doctor,  I  am  Richard  Shandon,  there  is  a  brig  For- 
ward, and  it  will  sail." 

"  There  's  logic,"  answered  the  doctor,  taking  a  long  breath, 
—  "  there 's  logic.  So  I  am  delighted,  enchanted  !  For  a  long  time 
I  Ve  been  waiting  for  something  of  this  sort  to  turn  up,  and  I  've 
been  wanting  to  try  a  voyage  of  this  sort.     Now,  with  you  —  " 

"  Excuse  me  —  "  said  Shandon. 

"  With  you,"  continued  Clawbonny,  paying  him  no  attention, 
"  we  are  sure  of  going  far  without  turning  round." 

"■  But  —  "  began  Shandon. 

"  For  you  have  shown  what  stuff  you  are  made  of,  and  I  know 
all  you  've  done.     Ah,  you  are  a  good  sailor  !  " 

"  If  you  please  —  " 

"  No,  I  sha'  n't  let  your  courage  and  skill  be  doubted  for  a 
moment,  even  by  yourself.  The  captain  who  chose  you  for  mate 
is  a  man  who  knew  w^hat  he  was  about ;  I  can  tell  you  that." 

"  But  that  is  not  the  question,"  said  Shandon,  impatiently. 

"  What  is  it,  then  ]     Don't  keep  me  anxious  any  longer." 

"But  you  w^on't  let  me  say  a  word.  Tell  me,  Doctor,  if  you 
please,  how  you  came  to  join  this  expedition  of  the  Forward  1 " 


20  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

"  By  a  letter,  a  capital  letter ;  here  it  is,  —  the  letter  of  a  brave 
captain,  very  short,  but  very  fall." 

With  these  words  he  handed  Shandon  a  letter  running  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

Inverness,  January  22,  1860. 
To  Dr.  Clawbonny,  Liverpool. 

If  Dr.  Clawbonny  wishes  to  sail  on  the  Forward  for  a  long  voyage, 
he  can  present  himself  to  the  mate,  Richard  Shandon,  who  has  been 

advised  concerning  him. 

K.  Z., 

Captain  of  the  Forward. 

"  The  letter  reached  me  this  morning,  and  I  'm  now  ready  to 
go  on  board  of  the  Forward.^' 

"  But,"  continued  Shandon,  "  I  suppose  you  know  whither  we 
are  bound." 

"  Not  the  least  idea  in  the  world ;  but  what  difference  does  it 
make,  provided  I  go  somewhere'?  They  say  I  'm  a  learned  man; 
they  are  wrong ;  I  don't  know  anything,  and  if  I  have  published 
some  books  which  have  had  a  good  sale,  1  was  wrong ;  it  was  very 
kind  of  the  public  to  buy  them  !  I  don't  know  anything,  I  tell 
you,  except  that  I  am  very  ignorant.  Now  I  have  a  chance  offered 
me  to  complete,  or,  rather,  to  make  over  my  knowledge  of  medi- 
cine, surgery,  history,  geography,  botany,  mineralogy,  conchology, 
geodesy,  chemistry,  physics,  mechanics,  hydrography ;  well,  I  ac- 
cept it,  and  I  assure  you,  I  did  n't  have  to  be  asked  twice." 

"Then,"  said  Shandon  in  a  tone  of  disappointment,  "you  don't 
know  where  the  Forivard  is  going." 

"  0,  but  I  do,  commander ;  it 's  going  where  there  is  something 
to  be  learned,  discovered ;  where  one  can  instruct  himself,  make 
comparisons,  see  other  customs,  other  countries,  study  the  ways  of 
other  people  ;  in  a  word,  it 's  going  where  I  have  never  been." 

"  But  more  precisely  % "  cried  Shandon. 

"More  precisely,"  answered  the  doctor,  "I  have  understood 
that  it  was  boimd  for  the  Northern  Ocean.  Well,  good  for  the 
North ! " 

"At  any  rate,"  said  Shandon,  "you  know  the  captain  1" 

"Not  at  all !     But  he  's  a  good  fellow,  you  may  depend  on  it." 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  21 

The  mate  and  the  doctor  stepped  ashore  at  Birkenhead ;  Shan- 
don  gave  his  companion  all  the  information  he  had,  and  the  mys- 
tery which  lay  about  it  all  excited  highly  the  doctor's  imagina- 
tion. The  sight  of  the  Forivard  enchanted  him.  From  that 
time  he  was  always  with  Shandon,  and  he  came  every  morning  to 
inspect  the  hull  of  the  Forward. 

In  addition  he  was  specially  intrusted  with  the  providing  of 
the  ship's  medicine-chest. 

For  Clawbonny  was  a  physician,  and  a  good  one,  although  he 
had  never  practised  much.  At  twenty-five  he  was  an  ordinary 
young  doctor,  at  forty  he  was  a  learned  man ;  being  known 
throughout  the  whole  city,  he  became  a  leading  member  of  the 
Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of  Liverpool.  His  moderate 
fortune  allowed  him  to  give  some  advice  which  was  no  less  valu- 
able for  being  without  charge ;  loved  as  a  thoroughly  kind- 
hearted  man  must  be,  he  did  no  harm  to  any  one  else  nor  to  him- 
self; quick  and  g^arrulous,  if  you  please,  but  with  his  heart  in  his 
hand,  and  his  hand  in  that  of  all  the  world. 

When  the  news  of  his  intended  journey  on  board  the  Forward 
became  known  in  the  city,  all  his  friends  endeavored  to  dissuade 
him,  but  they  only  made  him  cling  more  obstinately  to  his  inten- 
tion ;  and  when  the  doctor  had  absolutely  determined  on  any- 
thing, he  was  a  skilful  man  who  could  make  him  change. 

From  that  day  the  rumors,  conjectures,  and  apprehensions 
steadily  increased ;  but  that  did  not  interfere  with  the  launching 
of  the  Forward  on  t\iQ  5th  of  February,  18G0.  Two  months  later 
she  w\is  ready  for  sea. 

On  the  15th  of  March,  as  the  captain's  letter  had  said,  a 
Danish  dog  was  sent  by  rail  from  Edinburgh  to 
Liverpool,  to  the  address  of  Richard  Shandon. 
He  seemed  morose,  timid,  and  almost  wicked  ; 
his  expression  was  very  strange.  The  name  of 
the  Forward  was  engraved  on  his  collar. 

The  commander  gave  him  quarters  on  board,  and  sent  a  letter, 
with  the  news  of  his  arrival,  to  Leghorn. 

Hence,  with  the  exception  of  the  captain,  the  crew  of  the  For- 
ivard was  complete.     It  was  composed  as  follows  :  — 


22  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTEBAS. 

1.  K.  Z.,  captain;  2.  Richard  Shandon,  first  mate,  in  com- 
mand ;  3.  James  Wall,  second  mate ;  4.  Dr.  Clawbonny ;  5. 
Johnson,  boatswain ;  6.  Simpson,  harpooner ;  7.  Bell,  carpenter ; 
8.  Brunton,  first  engineer;  9.  Plover,  second  engineer;  10. 
Strong  (negro),  cook;  11.  Foker,  ice-master;  12.  Wolston, 
gunner;  13.  Bolton,  sailor;  14.  Garry,  sailor;  15.  Clifton, 
sailor;   16.  Gripper,  sailor;  17.  Pen,  sailor;  18.  Warren,  stoker. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE    DOG-CAPTAIN. 

The  5th  of  April,  the  day  of  departure,  came.  The  fact  that 
the  doctor  had  joined  the  expedition  gave  some  comfort  to  those 
on  board.  Wherever  he  could  go  they  could  follow.  Still,  most 
of  the  sailors  were  very  uneasy,  and  Shandon,  fearing  that  their 
number  might  be  diminished  by  desertion,  was  very  anxious  to 
get  to  sea.  The  land  once  out  of  sight,  the  men  would  soon  be 
resigned. 

Dr.  Clawbonny's  cabin  was  situated  on  the  poop,  occupying  the 
extreme  after-part  of  the  ship.  The  cabins  of  the  captain  and 
mate  opened  on  the  deck.  That  of  the  captain  was  kept  tightly 
closed,  after  it  had  been  provided  with  various  instruments,  fur- 
niture, clothing,  books,  and  utensils,  all  of  which  had  been  set 
down  in  detail  in  a  letter.  As  he  had  asked,  the  key  w-as  sent  to 
the  captain  at  Ltibeck  ;  so  he  alone  had  admission  into  the  cabin. 

This  fact  annoyed  Shandon,  and  diminished  his  chances  of  hav- 
ing chief  command.  As  for  his  own  cabin,  he  had  arranged  it 
suitably  for  the  presumed  voyage,  for  he  knew  very  well  what 
was  necessary  for  a  polar  expedition. 

The  second  mate's  cabin  was  on  the  lower  deck,  w^here  the 
sailors  were  domiciled ;  the  ^crew  had  very  comfortable  quarters ; 
they  would  hardly  have  had  such  accommodations  in  any  other 
ship.  They  were  treated  as  if  they  w^ere  a  valuable  cargo ;  a 
huge  stove  stood  in  the  middle  of  their  sleeping-room. 


This  space  of  six  feet  square  contained  incalculable  wealth." —  Page  23. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  23 

Dr.  Clawbonny  was  very  enthusiastic  about  it ;  he  took  posses- 
sion of  his  cabin  on  the  6th  of  February,  the  day  after  the  ship 
was  launched. 

"  The  happiest  animal  in  the  world,"  he  used  to  say,  "  would 
be  a  snail  who  could  make  himself  just  such  a  shell  as  he 
■wanted;    I  shall  try  to  be  an  intelligent  snail." 

And,  in  fact,  for  a  shell  which  he  was  not  going  to  leave  for 
some  time,  his  cabin  presented  a  very  comfortable  appearance ; 
the  doctor  took  a  scientific  or  childlike  pleasure  in  airanging  his 
scientific  paraphernalia.  His  books,  his  specimens,  his  cases,  his 
instruments,  his  physical  apparatus,  his  thermometers,  barome- 
ters, field-glasses,  compasses,  sextants,  charts,  drawings,  phials, 
powder,  and  medicine-bottles,  all  were  classified  in  a  way  which 
would  have  done  honor  to  the  British  Museum.  This  space  of 
six  feet  square  contained  incalculable  wealth ;  the  doctor  needed 
only  to  stretch  out  his  hand  without  rising,  to  become  at  once 
a  physician,  a  mathematician,  an  astronomer,  a  geogTapher,  a 
botanist,  or  a  conchologist. 

To  tell  the  truth,  he  was  proud  of  his  arrangements,  and  very 
contented  in  his  floating  sanctum,  which  three  of  his  thinnest  friends 
would  have  completely  filled.  They  used  to  crowed  there  in  great 
numbers,  so  that  even  so  good-natured  a  man  as  the  doctor  was 
occasionally  put  out ;  and,  like  Socrates,  he  came  at  last  to  say,  — 

"  My  house  is  small,  but  may  Heaven  grant  that  it  never  be 
filled  with  friends  !  " 

To  complete  our  account  of  the  Forward,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  add  that  a  kennel  for  the  huge  Danish  dog  was  built  just 
beneath  the  window  of  the  closed  cabin  ;  but  he  preferred  to  keep 
himself  between  decks  and  in  the  hold ;  it  seemed  impossible  to 
tame  him ;  no  one  ever  conquered  his  shyness  ;  he  could  be  heard, 
at  night  especially,  howling  dismally  in  the  ship's  hold. 

Was  it  because  he  missed  his  master  %  Had  he  an  instinctive 
dread  of  the  dangers  of  the  voyage  1  Had  he  a  presentiment  of 
the  coming  perils  %  The  sailors  were  sure  that  he  had,  and  more 
than  one  said  the  same  in  jest,  who  in  his  heart  regarded  the  dog 
as  a  sort  of  diabolic  animal. 

Pen,  a  very  brutal  man,  one  day,  while  trying  to  kick  him, 


24 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


slipped,  and  fell  on  the  corner  of  the  capstan  in  such  a  way  that 

he  cut  his  head  badly.     It  is  easy  to  see  how  the  sailors  put  all 

the  blame  upon  the  dog. 

Clifton,  who  was  the  most  superstitious 
man  in  the  crew,  made,  one  day,  the  strange 
observation  that  the  dog,  when  on  the  poop, 
would  always  walk  on  the  windward  side ; 
and  afterwards,  when  the  brig  was  at  sea  and 
under  sail,  this  singular  animal  would  shift 
his  position  to  the  other  side  after  every  tack, 
so  as  to  be  windward,  as  the  captain  of  the 
Forivard  would  have  done. 

Dr.  Clawbonny,  who  by  his  gentleness  and 
^^^'  caresses  would  have  almost  tamed  the  heart 

of  a  tiger,  tried  in  vain  to  make  friends  with  the  dog ;  he  met 
with  no  success. 

The  dog,  too,  did  not  answer  to  any  of  the  usual  names  of  his 
kind.  So  the  men  used  to  call  him  "Cap- 
tain," for  he  seemed  perfectly  familiar  with 
all  the  ways  on  shipboard.  He  had  evidently 
been  to  sea  before. 

It  is  hence  easy  to   imderstand  the  boat- 
swain's answer   to  Clifton's  friend,  and  how 
this  idea  found  but  few  sceptics;  more  than 
CLIFTON.  ^^g  would  repeat  it  jestingly,  who  was  fully 

prepared  to  see  the  dog,  some  fine  day,  take  human  shape,  and 
with  a  loud  voice  assume  command. 

If  Richard  Shandon  did  not  share  such  apprehensions,  he  was 
far  from  being  undisturbed,  and  on  the  eve  of  departing,  on  the 
night  of  Ayjril  5th,  he  was  talking  on  this  subject  with  the  doctor, 
Wall,  and  Johnson,  in  the  mess-room. 

These  four  persons  were  sipping  their  tenth  grog,  which  was 
probably  their  last,  too  ;  for,  in  accordance  with  the  letter  from 
Aberdeen,  all  the  crew,  from  the  captain  to  the  stoker,  were  tee- 
totalers, never  touching  beer,  wine,  nor  spirits,  except  in  case  of 
sickness,  and  by  the  advice  of  the  doctor. 

For  an  hour  past  they  had  been  talking  about  their  departure. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  25 

If  the  captain's  instructions  were  to  be  completely  carried  out, 
Shandon  would  the  next  day  receive  a  letter  containing  his  last 
orders. 

"If  that  letter,"  said  the  mate,  "doesn't  tell  me  the  captain's 
name,  it  must  at  least  tell  us  whither  we  are  bound.  If  not,  in 
what  direction  shall  we  sail  1 " 

"  Upon  my  word,"  answered  the  impatient  doctor,  "  if  I  were 
in  your  place,  Shandon,  I  should  set  sail  even  without  getting  a 
letter  ;  one  will  come  after  us,  you  may  be  sure." 

"  You  have  a  great  deal  of  faith,  Doctor.  But,  if  you  please,  to 
what  part  of  the  world  would  you  sail  1 " 

"  Towards  the  North  Pole,  of  course ;  there  can  be  no  doubt 
about  that." 

"  No  doubt  indeed  !"  said  Wall.  "  Why  not  towards  the  South 
PoleT' 

"  The  South  Pole  !  Never  !  "  cried  the  doctor.  "  Would  the 
captain  ever  have  thought  of  sending  a  brig  across  the  whole 
Atlantic  Ocean  1     Just  think  for  a  moment,  my  dear  Wall." 

"  The  doctor  has  an  answer  for  everything,"  was  his  only  reply. 

*'  Granted  it 's  northward,"  resumed  Shandon.  "  But  tell  me, 
Doctor,  is  it  to  Spitzbergen,  Greenland,  or  Labrador  that  we  have 
to  sail,  or  to  Hudson's  Bay^  If  all  these  routes  come  to  the 
same  end  at  last,  —  the  impassable  ice,  —  there  is  still  a  great 
number  of  them,  and  I  should  find  it  very  hard  to  choose  between 
them.     Have  any  definite  answer  to  that,  Doctor  1 " 

"  No,"  answered  the  doctor,  annoyed  that  he  had  nothing  to 
say  ;  "  but  if  you  get  no  letter,  what  shall  you  do  1 " 

"  I  shall  do  nothing ;  I  shall  wait." 

"  You  won't  set  sail ! "  cried  Clawbonny,  twirling  his  glass  in 
his  despair. 

•'  No,  certainly  not." 

"  That 's  the  best  course,"  said  Johnson,  mildly ;  while  the  doc- 
tor walked  around  the  table,  being  unable  to  sit  quiet  any  longer. 
"  Yes,  that 's  the  best  course  ;  and  still,  too  long  a  delay  might 
have  very  disastrous  consequences.  In  the  first  place,  the  season 
's  a  good  one,  and  if  it  's  north  we  are  going,  we  ought  to  take 
.idvantage  of  the  mild  weather  to  get  through  Davis  Straits; 
2 


26  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT T ERAS. 

besides,  the  crew  will  get  more  and  more  impatient ;  the  friends 
and  companions  of  the  men  are  urging  them  to  leave  the  For- 
iua7'd,  and  they  might  succeed  in  playing  us  a  very  bad  turn." 

"And  then,  too,"  said  James  Wall,  "if 
any  panic  should  arise  among  the  men, 
every  one  would  desert  us ;  and  I  don't 
know.  Commander,  how  you  could  get  to- 
gether another  crew." 

"  But  what  is  to  be  done  % "  cried  Shan- 
don. 

"What  you  said,"  answered  the  doctor: 
"wait;  but  wait  till  to-morrow  before  you 
despair.  The  captain's  promises  have  all 
been  fulfilled  so  far  with  such  regularity  that  we  may  have  the 
best  hopes  for  the  future ;  there  's  no  reason  to  think  that  we 
shall  not  be  told  of  our  destination  at  the  proper  time.  As  for 
me,  I  don't  doubt  in  the  least  that  to-morrow  we  shall  be  sailing 
in  the  Irish  Sea.  So,  my  friends,  I  propose  one  last  drink  to  a 
happy  voyage ;  it  begins  in  a  mysterious  way,  but,  with  such 
sailors  as  you,  there  are  a  thousand  chances  of  its  ending  well." 
And  they  all  touched  their  glasses  for  the  last  time. 
"  Now,  Commander,"  resumed  Johnson,  "  I  have  one  piece  of 
advice  to  give  3^ou,  and  that  is,  to  make  everything  ready  for  sail- 
ing. Let  the  crew  think  you  are  certain  of  what  you  are  about. 
To-morrow,  whether  a  letter  comes  or  not,  set  sail ;  don't  start 
your  fires  ;  the  wind  promises  to  hold  ;  nothing  will  be  easier  than 
to  get  off;  take  a  pilot  on  board  ;  at  the  ebb  of  the  tide  leave  the 
docks ;  then  anchor  beyond  Birkenhead  Point ;  the  crew  will  have 
no  more  communication  with  the  land  ;  and  if  this  devilish  letter 
does  come  at  last,  it  can  find  us  there  as  well  as  anywhere." 

"  Well  said,  Johnson  ! "  exclaimed  the  doctor,  reaching  out  his 
hand  to  the  old  sailor. 

"  That 's  what  we  shall  do,"  answered  Shandon. 
Each  one  then  withdrew  to  his  cabin,  and  took  what  sleep  he 
could  get  till  morning. 

The  next  day  the  first  distribution  of  letters  took  place  in  the 
city,  but  there  was  none  for  Commander  Richard  Shandon. 


'The  news  spread  immediately  throughout  the  city,  and  a  great  concourse  of 
spectators  thronged  the  piers."  —  Page  27. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  27 

Nevertheless  he  made  his  preparations  for  departure  ;  the  news 
spread  immediately  throughout  the  city,  and,  as  we  have  seen, 
a  great  concourse  of  spectators  thronged  the  piers  of  the  New 
Prince's  Docks. 

A  great  many  people  came  on  board  the  brig,  —  some  to  bid  a 
friend  good  by,  or  to  urge  him  to  leave  the  ship,  or  to  gaze  at 
this  strange  vessel ;  others  to  ascertain  the  object  of  the  voyage  ; 
and  there  w^ere  many  murmurs  at  the  unusual  silence  of  the  com- 
mander. 

For  that  he  had  his  reasons. 

Ten  o'clock  struck.  Eleven,  The  tide  was  to  turn  at  half  past 
twelve.  Shandon,  from  the  upper  deck,  gazed  with  anxious  eyes 
at  the  crowd,  trying  in  vain  to  read  on  some  one's  face  the  secret 
of  his  fate.  But  in  vain.  The  sailors  of  the  Forward  obeyed  his 
orders  in  silence,  keeping  their  eyes  fixed  upon  him,  ever  await- 
ing some  information  which  he  did  not  give. 

Johnson  was  finishing  the  preparations  for  setting  sail.  The 
day  was  overcast,  and  the  sea,  outside  of  the  docks,  rather  high ; 
a  stiff  southwest  breeze  was  blowing,  but  they  could  easily  leave 
the  Mersey. 

At  twelve  o'clock  still  nothing.  Dr.  Clawbonny  w\alked  up  and 
down  uneasily,  looking  about,  gesticulating,  and  "  impatient  for 
the  sea,"  as  he  said.  In  spite  of  all  he  could  do,  he  felt  excited. 
Shandon  bit  his  lips  till  the  blood  came. 

At  this  moment  Johnson  came  up  to  him  and  said,  — 

"  Commander,  if  we  are  going  to  take  this  tide,  we  must  lose 
no  time  ;  it  will  be  a  good  hour  before  we  can  get  off  from  the 
docks." 

Shandon  cast  one  last  glance  about  him,  and  looked  at  his 
watch.  It  was  after  the  time  of  the  midday  distribution  of 
letters. 

"  Cast  off !  "  he  said  to  his  boatswain. 

"  All  ashore  who  are  going  ! "  cried  the  latter,  ordering  the 
spectators  to  leave  the  deck  of  the  Forward. 

Thereupon  the  crowd,  began  to  move  toward  the  gangway  and 
make  its  way  on  to  the  quay,  while  the  crew  began  to  cast  off  the 
last  moorino:s. 


28 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  H ATT  ERAS. 


At  once  the  inevitable  confusion  of  the  crowd,  which  was 
pushed  about  without  much  ceremony  by  the  sailors,  was  in- 
creased by  the  barking  of  the  dog.  He  suddenly  sprang  from  the 
forecastle  right  through  the  mass  of  visitors,  barking  sullenly. 

All  made  way  for  him.  He  sprang  on  the  poop-deck,  and,  in- 
credible as  it  may  seem,  yet,  as  a  thousand  witnesses  can  testify, 
this  dog-captain  carried  a  letter  in  his  mouth. 

''  A  letter  !  "  cried  Shandon ;  "  but  is  he  on  board  % " 

"  He  was,  without  doubt,  but  he 's  not  now,"  answered  Johnson, 
showing  the  deck  cleared  of  the  crowd. 


"  Here,  Captain  !  Captain  !  "  shouted  the  doctor,  trying  to  take 
the  letter  from  the  dog,  who  kept  springing  away  from  him.  He 
seemed  to  want  to  give  the  letter  to  Shandon  himself. 

"  Here,  Captain  !  "  he  said. 

The  dog  went  up  to  him ;  Shandon  took  the  letter  without 
difficulty,  and  then  Captain  barked  sharply  three  times,  amid  the 
profound  silence  which  prevailed  on  board  the  ship  and  along  the 
quay. 

Shandon  held  the  letter  in  his  hand,  without  opening  it. 

"  Read  it,  read  it ! "  cried  the  doctor.  Shandon  looked  at  it. 
The  address,  without  date  or  place,  ran  simply,  —  *'  Commander 
Richard  Shandon,  on  board  the  brig  Forward^ 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  29 

Shandon  opened  the  letter  and  read  :  — 

You  will  sail  towards  Cape  Farewell.  You  will  reach  it  April  20. 
If  the  captain  does  not  appear  on  board,  you  will  pass  through  Davis 
Strait  and  go  up  Baffin's  Bay  as  far  as  Melville  Sound. 

K.  Z., 
Captain  of  the  Forward. 

Shandon  folded  carefully  this  brief  letter,  put  it  in  his  pocket, 
and  gave  the  order  to  cast  off.  His  voice,  which  arose  alone  above 
the  roaring  of  the  wind,  sounded  very  solemn. 

Soon  the  Forward  had  left  the  docks,  and  under  the  care  of  a 
pilot,  whose  boat  followed  at  a  distance,  put  out  into  the  stream. 
The  crowd  hastened  to  the  outer  quay  by  the  Victoria  Docks  to 
get  a  last  look  at  the  strange  vessel.  The  two  topsails,  the  fore- 
sail, and  staysail  were  soon  set,  and  under  this  canvas  the  For- 
ward, which  well  deserved  its  name,  after  rounding  Birkenhead 
Point,  sailed  away  into  the  Irish  Sea. 


CHAPTER    V. 

AT    SEA. 

The  wind,  which  was  uncertain,  although  in  general  favorable, 
was  blowing  in  genuine  April  squalls.  The  Forward  sailed  rapidly, 
and  its  screw,  as  yet  unused,  did  not  delay  its  j^rogress.  Towards 
three  o'clock  they  met  the  steamer  which  plies  between  Liverpool 
and  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  which  can-ies  the  three  legs  of  Sicily  on 
its  paddle-boxes.  Her  captain  hailed  them,  and  this  was  the  last 
good-by  to  the  crew  of  the  Forward. 

At  five  o'clock  the  pilot  resigned  the  charge  of  the  ship  to 
Richard  Shandon,  and  sailed  away  in  his  boat,  which  soon  disap- 
peared from  sight  in  the  southwest. 

Towards  evening  the  brig  doubled  the  Calf  of  Man,  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  island  of  that  name.  During  the  night 
the  sea  was  very  high ;  the  Forward  rode  the  waves  very  well, 


30 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT T ERAS. 


however,  and  leaving  the  Point  of  Ayr  on  the  northwest,  she  ran 
towards  the  North  Channel. 

Johnson  was  right;  once  at  sea  the  sailors  readily  adapted 
themselves  instinctively  to  the  situation.  They  saw  the  excel- 
lence of  their  vessel  and  forgot  the  strangeness  of  their  situation. 
The  ship's  routine  was  soon  regularly  established. 


The  doctor  inhaled  with  pleasure  the  sea-air ;  he  paced  up  and 
down  the  deck  in  spite  of  the  fresh  wind,  and  showed  that  for  a 
student  he  had  very  good  sea-legs. 

"  The  sea  is  a  fine  thing,"  he  said  to  Johnson,  as  he  went  upon 
the  bridge  after  breakfast ;  "  I  am  a  little  late  in  making  its 
acquaintance,  but  I  shall  make  up  for  my  delay." 

''You  are  right,  Dr.  Clawbonny;  I  would  give  all  the  land  in 
the  world  for  a  bit  of  ocean.  People  say  that  sailors  soon  get 
tired  of  their  business ;  but  I  've  been  sailing  for  forty  years,  and 
I  like  it  as  well  as  I  did  the  first  day." 

"  What  a  pleasure  it  is  to  feel  a  stanch  ship  under  one's  feet ! 
and,  if  I  'm  not  mistaken,  the  Forward  is  a  capital  sea-boat." 

"  You  are  right.  Doctor,"  answered  Shandon,  who  had  joined  the 
two  speakers  ;  "  she 's  a  good  ship,  and  I  must  say  that  there  was 
never  a  ship  so  well  equipped  for  a  voyage  in  the  polar  regions. 


"Towards  evening  the  brig  doubled  the  Calf  of  Man."  —  Page  29. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  31 

That  reminds  me  that,  thirty  years  ago,  Captain  James  Ross, 
going  to  seek  the  Northwest  Passage  —  " 

"  Commanded  the  Victory"  said  the  doctor,  quickly,  "  a  brig  of 
about  the  tonnage  of  this  one,  and  also  carrying  machinery." 

"  What !  did  you  know  that  % " 

"  Say  for  yourself,"  retorted  the  doctor.  "  Steamers  were  then 
new  inventions,  and  the  machinery  of  the  Victory  was  continually 
delaying  him.  Captain  Ross,  after  in  vain  trying  to  patch  up 
every  piece,  at  last  took  it  all  out  and  left  it  at  the  first  place  he 
wintered  at." 

"  The  deuce  !  "  said  Shandon.     "  You  know  all  about  it,  I  see." 

''  More  or  less,"  answered  the  doctor.  "  In  my  reading  I  have 
come  across  the  works  of  Parry,  Ross,  Franklin ;  the  reports  of 
MacClure,  Kennedy,  Kane,  MacClintock ;  and  some  of  it  has  stuck 
in  my  memory.  I  might  add  that  MacClintock,  on  board  of  the 
Fox,  a  propeller  like  ours,  succeeded  in  making  his  way  more 
easily  and  more  directly  than  all  his  successors." 

''  That 's  perfectly  true,"  answered  Shandon ;  "  that  MacClintock 
is  a  good  sailor ;  I  have  seen  him  at  sea.  You  might  also  say  that 
we  shall  be,  like  him,  in  Davis  Strait  in  the  month  of  April ;  and 
if  we  can  get  through  the  ice  our  voyage  wall  be  very  much  ad- 
vanced." 

"  Unless,"  said  the  doctor,  "  we  should  be  as  unlucky  as  the 
Fox  in  1857,  and  should  be  caught  the  first  year  by  the  ice  in  the 
north  of  Baffin's  Bay,  and  we  should  have  to  winter  among  the 
icebergs." 

"  We  must  hope  to  be  luckier,  Mr.  Shandon,"  said  Johnson  ; 
*'  and  if,  with  a  ship  like  the  Forward,  we  can't  go  where  we 
please,  the  attempt  must  be  given  up  forever." 

"  Besides,"  continued  the  doctor,  *'  if  the  captain  is  on  board  he 
will  know  better  than  w^e  what  is  to  be  done,  and  so  much  the 
better  because  we  are  perfectly  ignorant ;  for  his  singularly  brief 
letter  gives  us  no  clew  to  the  probable  aim  of  the  voyage." 

"  It 's  a  great  deal,"  answered  Shandon,  with  some  w^armth,  "  to 
know  what  route  we  have  to  take  ;  and  now  for  a  good  month,  I 
fancy,  we  shall  be  able  to  get  along  without  his  supernatural  inter- 
vention and  orders.    Besides,  you  know  what  I  think  about  him." 


32  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

"  Ha,  ha ! "  laughed  the  doctor ;  "  I  used  to  think  as  you  did, 
that  he  was  going  to  leave  the  command  of  the  ship  in  your 
hands,  and  that  he  would  never  come  on  board ;  but  —  " 

"  But  what  %  "  asked  Shandon,  with  some  ill-humor. 

"  But  since  the  arrival  of  the  second  letter,  I  have  altered  my 
•views  somewhat." 

"  And  why  so,  doctor  1 " 

"  Because,  although  this  letter  does  tell  you  in  which  direc- 
tion to  go,  it  still  does  not  inform  you  of  the  final  aim  of  the  voy- 
age ;  and  we  have  yet  to  know  whither  we  are  to  go.  I  ask  you 
how  can  a  third  letter  reach  us  now  that  we  are  on  the  open 
sea.  The  postal  service  on  the  shore  of  Greenland  is  very  defec- 
tive. You  see,  Shandon,  I  fancy  that  he  is  waiting  for  us  at  some 
Danish  settlement  up  there,  —  at  Holsteinborg  or  Upernavik. 
We  shall  find  that  he  has  been  completing  the  supply  of  seal- 
skins, buying  sledges  and  dogs,  —  in  a  word,  providing  all  the 
equipment  for  a  journey  in  the  arctic  seas.  So  I  shall  not  be  in 
the  least  surprised  to  see  him  coming  out  of  his  cabin  some  fine 
morning  and  taking  command  in  the  least  supernatural  way  in 
the  world." 

"Possibly,"  answered  Shandon,  dryly;  "but  meanwhile  the 
wind  's  freshening,  and  there  's  no  use  risking  our  topsails  in 
such  weather." 

Shandon  left  the  doctor,  and  ordered  the  topsails  furled: 

"  He  still  clings  to  that  idea,"  said  the  doctor  to  the  boatswain. 

"  Yes,"  was  the  answer,  "  and  it 's  a  pity;  for  you  may  very  well 
be  right,  Dr.  Clawbonny." 

Towards  the  evening  of  Saturday  the  Forivard  rounded  the 
Mull  of  Galloway,  on  which  the  light  could  be  seen  in  the  north- 
east. During  the  night  they  left  the  Mull  of  Cantire  to  the  north, 
and  on  the  east  Fair  Head,  on  the  Irish  coast.  Towards  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  brig,  passing  Rathlin  Island  on  its  star- 
board quarter,  came  out  from  the  North  Channel  into  the  ocean. 

That  was  Sunday,  April  8.  The  English,  and  especially  sail- 
ors, are  very  observant  of  that  day  ;  hence  the  reading  of  the 
Bible,  of  which  the  doctor  gladly  took  charge,  occupied  a  good 
part  of  the  morning. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  33 

The  wind  rose  to  a  gale,  and  threatened  to  drive  the  ship  back 
upon  the  Irish  coast.  The  waves  ran  very  high  ;  the  vessel  rolled 
a  great  deal.  If  the  doctor  was  not  sea-sick,  it  was  because  he 
was  determined  not  to  be,  for  nothing  would  have  been  easier.    At 


midday  Malin  Head  disappeared  from  their  view  in  the  south  ;  it 
was  the  last  sight  these  bold  sailors  were  to  have  of  Europe,  and 
more  than  one  gazed  at  it  for  a  long  time  who  was  doubtless  fated 
never  to  set  eyes  on  it  again. 


By  observation  the  latitude  then  was  55°  57',  and  the  longi- 
tude, according  to  the  chronometer,  7°  40'.* 

The  gale  abated  towards  nine  o'clock  of  the  evening ;  the  For- 
ward, a  good  sailer,  kept  on  its  route  to  the  northwest.     That 

*  Meridian  of  Greenwich. 


34 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


day  gave  them  all  a  good  opportunity  to  judge  of  her  sea-gomg 
qualities;  as  good  judges  had  already  said  at  Liverpool,  she  was 
well  adapted  for  carrying  sail. 

During  the  following  days,  the  Forward 
made  very  good  progress ;  the  wind  veered 
to  the  south,  and  the  sea  ran  high.  The 
brig  set  every  sail.  A  few  petrels  and 
puffins  flew  about  the  poop-deck ;  the 
doctor  succeeded  in  shooting  one  of  the 
latter,  which  fortunately  fell  on  board. 

Simpson,  the  harpooner,  seized  it  and 
carried  it  to  the  doctor. 
"  It 's  an  ugly  bird.  Dr.  Clawbonny,"  he  said. 
"  But  then  it  will  make  a  good  meal,  my  friend." 
"  What,  are  you  going  to  eat  it  ? " 

"  And  you  shall  have  a  taste  of  it,"  said  the  doctor,  laughing. 
"Never!"     answered     Simpson; 
"  it 's  strong  and  oily,  like  all  sea- 
birds." 

"  True,"  said  the  doctor ;  ''  but  I 
have  a  way  of  dressing  such  game, 
and  if  you  recognize  it  to  be  a  sea- 
bird,  I  '11  promise  never  to  kill  an- 
other in  all  my  life." 

"  So  you  are  a  cook,  too,  Dr.  Claw- 
bonny % "  asked  Johnson. 

"  A  learned  man  ought  to  know  a 
little  of  everything." 

'*  Then  take  care,  Simpson,"  said 
the  boatswain  ;  "  the  doctor  is  a  clever 
man,  and  he  '11  make  us  take  this 
puffin  for  a  delicious  grouse." 

In  fact,  the  doctor  was  in  the  right 
about  this  bird  ;  he  removed  skilfully 
the  fat  which  lies  beneath  the  whole 
surfjice  of  the  skin,  principally  on  its 
thighs,  and  with  it  disappeared  all  the  rancid,  fishy  odor  with  which 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  35 

this  bird  can  be  justly  charged.    Thus  prepared,  the  bird  was  called 
delicious,  eveu  by  Simpson. 

During  the  recent  storm,  Richard  Shandon  had  made  up  his 
mind  about  the  qualities  of  his  crew ;  he  had  tested  his  men  one 
by  one,  as  every  officer  should  do  who  wishes  to  be  prepared  for 
future  dangers ;  he  knew  on  whom  he  could  rely. 

James  Wall,  who  was  warmly  attached  to  Richard,  was  intelli- 
gent and  efficient,  but  he  had  very  little  originality  ;  as  second 
officer  he  was  exactly  in  his  place. 

Johnson,  who  was  accustomed  to  the  dangers  of  the  sea, 
and  an  old  sailor  in  arctic  regions,  lacked  neither  coolness  nor 
courage. 

Simpson,  the  harpooner,  and  Bell,  the  carpenter,  were  steady 
men,  obedient  and  well  disciplined.  The  ice-master,  Foker,  an 
experienced  sailor,  who  had  sailed  in  northern  waters,  promised 
to  be  of  the  greatest  service. 

Of  the  other  men,  Garry  and  Bolton  seemed  to  be  the  best ; 
Bolton  was  a  jolly  fellow,  always  laughing 
and  joking;  Garry,  a  man  about  thirty-five 
years  old,  had  an  energetic,  but  rather  pale 
and  sad  face.  .^^MK^i^^C^^  ^ 


The  three  sailors,  Clifton,  Gripper,  and  ^^sM^Mfl«» 
Pen,  seemed  to  be  the  least  enthusiastic  and 
determined;  they  were  inclined  to  grum- 
bling. Gripper  had  even  wished  to  break  his 
engagement  when  the  time  came  for  sailing,  and  only  a  feeling 
of  shame  prevented  him.  If  things  went  well,  if  they  encoun- 
tered no  excessive  dangers,  and  their  toil  was  not  too  severe, 
these  three  men  could  be  counted  on  ;  but  they  were  hard  to 
please  with  their  food,  for  they  were  inclined  to  gluttony.  In 
spite  of  their  having  been  forewarned,  they  were  by  no  means 
pleased  with  being  teetotalers,  and  at  their  meals  they  used  to 
miss  their  brandy  or  gin ;  but  they  made  up  for  it  with  the  tea 
and  coffee  which  were  distributed  with  a  lavish  hand. 

As  for  the  two  engineers,  Brunton  and  Plover,  and  the  stoker, 
Warren,  they  had  been  so  far  well  satisfied  with  having  nothing 
to  do. 


36 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


Shandon  knew  therefore  what  to  expect  from  each  man. 
On  the  14th  of  April,  the  Forward  crossed  the  Gulf  Stream,, 
which,  after  following  the  eastern  coast  of  America    as   far  as 

Newfomidland,  turns  to  the  north- 
east and  moves  towards  the  shore 
of  Norway.  They  were  then  in 
latitude  51°  37',  and  longitude  22° 
37',  two  hundred  miles  from  the 
end  of  Greenland.  The  weather 
grew  colder  ;  the  thermometer  fell 
to  32°,  the  freezing-point. 

The  doctor,  without  yet  putting 
on  his  arctic  winter  dress,  was 
w^earing  a  suit  of  sea-clothes,  like 
all  the  officers  and  sailors ;  he  was 
an  amusing  sight  in  his  high  boots, 
in  which  he  could  not  bend  his  legs,  his  huge  tarpaulin  hat,  his 
trousers  and  coat  of  the  same  material ;  in  heavy  rain,  or  when 
the  brig  was  shipping  seas,  the  doctor  used  to  look  like  a  sort 
of  sea-monster,  a  comparison  which  always  flattered  him. 

For  two  days  the  sea  was  very  rough ;  the 
wind  veered  to  the  northwest,  and  delayed 
the  Forivard.  From  the  14th  to  the  16th 
of  April  there  was  still  a  high  sea  running ; 
but  on  Monday  there  fell  a  heavy  shower 
which  almost  immediately  had  the  effect  of 
calming  the  sea.  Shandon  called  the  doc- 
tor's attention  to  it. 

"Well,"  said  the  doctor,  "that  confirms 
the  curious  observations  of  the  whaler  Scores- 
by,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Royal  Society 
of  Edinburgh,  of  which  I  have  the  honor 
to  be  a  corresponding  member.     You  see 

that  while  the  rain  is  falling  the  waves  are  hardly  to  be  noticed, 
even   when    the   wind    is    strong.      On  the   other  hand,    in   dry 
weather  the  sea  would  be  rougher  even  with  a  gentler  wind." 
"But  what  is  the  explanation  of  it.  Doctor?" 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE. 


37 


"  It 's  very  simple  ;  there  is  no  explanation." 

At  that  moment  the  ice-master,  who  was  on  watch  in  the  top- 
mast cross-trees,  cried  out  that  there  was  a  floating  mass  on  the 
starboard  quarter,  about  fifteen  miles  to  windward. 

"An  iceberg  in  these 
latitudes  !  "  cried  the 
doctor. 

Shandon  turned  his 
glass  in  that  direction, 
and  corroborated  the 
lookout's  words. 

"  That 's  strange,"  said 
the  doctor. 

"  Are  you  surprised  1 " 
asked  tlie  commander, 
laughing.  "  What  !  are 
we  lucky  enough  to  find  anything  that  will  surprise  you  1 " 

"  I  am  surprised  without  being  surprised,"  answered  the  doc- 
tor, smiling,  *' since  the  brig  Ann  Poole,  of  Greenspond,  was 
caught  in  the  ice  in  the  year  1813,  in  the  forty -fourth  degree 
of  north  latitude,  and  Dayement,  her  captain,  saw  hundreds  of 
icebergs." 

"Good,"  said  Shandon  ;  "j^ou  can  still  teach  us  a  great  deal 
about  them." 

"  0,  not  so  very  much  ! "  answered  Clawbonny,  modestly,  "  ex- 
cept that  ice  has  been  seen  in  very  much  lower  latitudes." 

"  That  I  know,  my  dear  Doctor,  for  when  I  was  a  cabin-boy  on 
the  sloop-of-war.  Fly  —  " 

"In  1818,"  continued  the  doctor,  "at  the  end  of  March,  or  it 
might  have  l^en  the  beginning  of  April,  you  passed  between  two 
large  fields  of  floating  ice,  in  latitude  forty-two." 

"  That  is  too  much  !  "  exclaimed  Shandon. 

"  But  it 's  true ;  so  I  have  no  need  to  be  surprised,  now  that 
we  are  two  degrees  farther  north,  at  our  sighting  an  iceberg." 

"  You  are  bottled  full  of  information.  Doctor,"  answered  the 
commander ;  "  one  needs  only  draw  the  cork." 

"Very  well,  I  shall  be  exhausted  sooner  than  you  think  ;  and 


38  TEE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

now,  Shandon,  if  we  can  get  a  nearer  view  of  this  phenomenon,  I 
should  be  the  gladdest  of  doctors." 

"  Exactly,  Johnson,"  said  Shandon,  summoning  the  boatswain ; 
"  I  think  the  wind  is  freshening." 

"  Yes,  Commander,"  answered  Johnson,  "  we  are  making  very 
little  headway,  and  soon  we  shall  feel  the  currents  from  Davis 
Strait." 

"  You  are  right,  Johnson,  and  if  we  mean  to  make  Cape  Fare- 
well by  the  20th  of  April,  we  must  go  under  steam,  or  we  shall  be 
cast  on  the  coast  of  Labrador.  —  Mr.  Wall,  give  the  order  to  light 
the  fires." 

The  mate's  orders  were  obeyed ;  an  hour  later  the  engines  were 
in  motion ;  the  sails  were  furled  ;  and  the  screw,  turning  through 
the  waves,  was  driving  the  Forivard  rapidly  in  the  teeth  of  the 
northwest  wind. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE  GREAT  POLAR  CURRENT. 

Soon  more  numerous  flocks  of  birds,  petrels,  puffins,  and  others 
which  inhabit  those  barren  shores,  gave  token  of  their  approach 
to  Greenland.  The  Forward  was  moving  rapidly  northward,  leav- 
ing behind  her  a  long  line  of  dark  smoke. 

Tuesday,  the  17th  of  April,  the  ice-master  caught  the  first 
sight  of  the  Uink^  of  the  ice.  It  was  visible  at  least  twenty 
miles  off  to  the  north-northwest.  In  spite  of  some  tolerably  thick 
clouds  it  lighted  up  brilliantly  all  the  air  near  the  horizon.  No 
one  of  those  on  board  who  had  ever  seen  this  phenomenon  be- 
fore could  fail  to  recognize  it,  and  they  felt  assured  from  its 
whiteness  that  this  blink  was  due  to  a  vast  field  of  ice  lying 
about  thirty  miles  farther  than  they  could  see,  and  that  it  came 
from  the  reflection  of  its  luminous  rays. 

Towards  evening  the  wind  shifted  to  the  south,  and  became 
favorable ;    Shandon  was  able  to  carry  sail,   and   as  a  measure 

*  A  peculiar  and  brilliant  color  of  the  air  above  a  large  expanse  of  ice. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  39 

of  economy  they  extinguished  the  furnace  fires.  The  Forward 
under  her  topsails,  jib,  and  foresail,  sailed  on  towards  Cape 
Farewell. 

At  three  o'clock  on  the  18th  they  made  out  an  ice-stream, 
which,  like  a  narrow  but  brilliant  band,  divided  the  lines  of  the 
water  and  sky.  It  was  evidently  descending  rather  from  the 
coast  of  Greenland  than  from  Davis  Strait,  for  the  ice  tended 
to  keep  on  the  western  side  of  Baffin's  Bay.  An  hour  later, 
and  the  Forward  was  passing  through  the  detached  fragments 
of  the  ice-stream,  and  in  the  thickest  part  the  pieces  of  ice, 
although  closely  welded  together,  were  rising  and  falling  with 
the  waves. 

xA.t  daybreak  the  next  morning  the  watch  saw  a  sail ;  it  was 
the  Valkijria,  a  Danish  corvette,  sailing  towards  the  Forward^ 
bound  to  Newfoundland.  The  current  from  the  strait  became 
perceptible,  and  Shandon  liad  to  set  more  sail  to  overcome  it. 

At  that  moment  the  commander,  the  doctor,  James  Wall,  and 
Johnson  were  all  together  on  the  poop-deck,  observing  the  force 
and  direction  of  the  current.  The  doctor  asked  if  it  were  proved 
that  this  current  was  felt  throughout  Baffin's  Bay. 

"There  's  no  doubt  of  it,"  answered  Shandon;  "and  sailing- 
vessels  have  hard  work  in  making  headway  against  it." 

"  And  it 's  so  much  the  harder,"  added  James  Wall,  "  because 
it 's  met  on  the  eastern  coast  of  America,  as  well  as  on  the  west- 
ern coast  of  Greenland." 

"  Well,"  said  the  doctor,  "  that  serves  to  confirm  those  who 
seek  a  Northwest  Passage.  The  current  moves  at  the  rate  of 
about  five  miles  an  hour,  and  it  is  hard  to  imagine  that  it  rises  at 
the  bottom  of  a  gulf." 

"  That  is  very  likely.  Doctor,"  answered  Shandon,  "  because, 
while  this  current  flows  from  north  to  south,  there  is  a  contrary 
current  in  Behring  Strait,  which  flows  from  south  to  north,  and 
which  must  be  the  cause  of  this  one." 

"  Hence,"  said  the  doctor,  "  you  must  admit  that  Ai^^ierica  is 
completely  separated  from  the  polar  regions,  and  that  the  water 
from  the  Pacific  skirts  its  whole  northern  coast,  until  it  reaches 
the  Atlantic.     Besides,  the  greater  elevation  of  the  water  of  the 


40  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT  TEE  AS. 

Pacific  is  another  reason  for  its  flowing  towards  the  European 
seas." 

"  But,"  said  Shandon,  "  there  must  be  some  facts  which  sup- 
port this  theory ;  and  if  there  are,"  he  added  with  gentle  irony, 
"  our  learned  friend  must  be  familiar  with  them." 

"  Well,"  answered  the  latter,  complacently,  "  if  it  interests  you 
at  all  I  can  tell  you  that  whales,  wounded  in  Davis  Strait,  have 
been  found  afterwards  on  the  coast  of  Tartary,  still  carrying  a 
European  harpoon  in  their  side." 

"  And  unless  they  doubled  Cape  Horn,  or  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,"  answered  Shandon,  "they  must  have  gone  around  the 
northern  coast  of  America.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  that. 
Doctor." 

"  And  if  you  were  not  convinced,  my  dear  Shandon,"  said  the 
doctor,  smiling,  "  I  could  produce  still  other  evidence,  such 
als  the  floating  wood  with  which  Davis  Strait  is  filled,  larch, 
aspen,  and  other  southern  kinds.  Now  we  know  that  the  Gulf 
Stream  could  not  carry  them  into  the  strait ;  and  if  they  come 
out  from  it  they  must  have  got  in  through  Behring  Strait." 

"  I  am  perfectly  convinced,  Doctor,  and  I  must  say  it  would  be 
hard  to  maintain  the  other  side  against  you." 

"See  there,"  said  Johnson,  "there  's  something  that  will  throw 
light  on  this  discussion.  It 's  a  large  piece  of  wood  floating  on 
the  water ;  if  the  commander  will  give  us  leave,  we  can  put  a  rope 
about  it,  hoist  it  on  board,  and  ask  it  the  name  of  its  country." 

"That's  the  way!"  said  the  doctor;  "after  the  rule  we  have 
the  example." 

Shandon  gave  the  necessary  orders ;  the  brig  was  turned  to- 
wards the  piece  of  wood,  and  soon  the  crew  were  hoisting  it 
aboard,  although  not  without  considerable  trouble. 

It  was  the  trimk  of  a  mahogany-tree,  eaten  to  its  centre  by 
worms,  wdiich  fact  alone  made  it  light  enough  to  float. 

"  This  is  a  real  triumph,"  exclaimed  the  doctor,  enthusiasti- 
cally, "/or,  since  the  Atlantic  currents  could  not  have  brought  it 
into  Davis  Strait,  since  it  could  not  have  reached  the  polar  wa- 
ters from  the  rivers  of  North  America,  as  the  tree  grows  under 
the  equator,  it  is  evident  that  it  must  have  come  direct  from 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


41 


Behring  Strait.     And    besides,  see  those  sea-worms  which  have 
eaten  it;  they  belong  to  warm  latitudes." 


"  It  certainly  gives  the  lie  to  those  who  deny  the  existence  of  a 
Northwest  Passage." 

"  It  fairly  kills  them,"  answered  the  doctor.  *'  See  here,  I  '11 
give  you  the  route  of  this  mahogany-tree  :  it  was  carried  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean  by  some  river  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  or  of 
Guatemala;  thence  the  current  carried  it  along  the  coast  of 
America  as  far  as  Behring  Strait,  and  so  it  was  forced  into  the 
polar  waters ;  it  is  neither  so  old  nor  so  completely  water-logged 
that  w^e  cannot  set  its  departure  at  some  recent  date  ;  it  escaped 
all  the  obstacles  of  the  many  straits  coming  into  Baffin's  Bay, 
and  being  quickly  seized  by  the  arctic  current  it  came  through 
Davis  Strait  to  be  hoisted  on  board  the  Fortvard  for  the  great  joy 
of  Dr.  Claw  bonny,  who  asks  the  commander's  permission  to  keep 
a  piece  as  a  memorial." 

"  Of  course,"  answered  Shandon  ;  "  but  let  me  tell  you  in  my 
turn  that  you  will  not  be  the  only  possessor  of  such  a  waif.  The 
Danish  governor  of  the  island  of  Disco  —  " 

"On  the  coast  of  Greenland,"  continued  the  doctor,  "has  a 
mahogany  table,  made  from  a  tree  found  in  the  same  way ;    I 


42  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

know  it,  my  dear  Shandon.  Very  well ;  I  don't  grudge  him  his 
table,  for  if  there  were  room  enough  on  board,  I  could  easily 
make  a  sleeping-room  out  of  this." 

On  the  night  of  Wednesday  the  wind  blew  with  extreme  vio- 
lence ',  drift-wood  was  frequently  seen ;  the  approach  to  the  coast 
became  more  dangerous  at  a  time  when  icebergs  are  numerous ; 
hence  the  commander  ordered  sail  to  be  shortened,  and  the  For- 
ward went  on  under  merely  her  foresail  and  forestay-sail. 

The  thermometer  fell  below  the  freezing-point.  Shandon  dis- 
tributed among  the  crew  suitable  clothing,  woollen  trousers  and 
jackets,  flannel  shirts,  and  thick  woollen  stockings,  such  as  are 
worn  by  Norwegian  peasants.  Every  man  received  in  addition  a 
pair  of  water-proof  boots. 

As  for  Captain,  he  seemed  contented  with  his  fur ;  he  appeared 
indifferent  to  the  changes  of  temperature,  as  if  he  were  thor- 
oughly accustomed  to  such  a  life ;  and  besides,  a  Danish  dog  was 
unlikely  to  be  very  tender.  The  men  seldom  laid  eyes  on  him, 
for  he  generally  kept  himself  concealed  in  the  darkest  parts  of  the 
vessel. 

Towards  evening,  through  a  rift  in  the  fog,  the  coast  of  Green- 
land could  be  seen  m 
longitude  37°  2'  1". 
Through  his  glass  the 
doctor  was  able  to 
distinguish  mountains 
separated  by  huge  gla- 
ciers ;  but  the  fog  soon 
cut  out  this  view,  like 
the  curtain  of  a  thea- 
tre falling  at  the  most 
interesting  part  of  a 
play. 

On  the  morning  of  the  20th  of  April,  the  Forward  found  itself 
in  sight  of  an  iceberg  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  aground  in 
this  place  from  time  immemorial ;  the  thaws  have  had  no  effect 
upon  it,  and  leave  its  strange  shape  unaltered.  Snow  saw.  it ;  in 
1829  James  Koss  took  an  exact  drawing  of  it;  and  in  1851  the 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  43 

French  lieutenant,  Bellot,  on  board  of  the  Prince  Albert,  ob- 
served it.  Naturally  the  doctor  wanted  to  preserve  a  memorial 
of  the  famous  mountain,  and  he  made  a  very  successful  sketch 
of  it. 

It  is  not  strange  that  such  masses  should  run  aground,  and  in 
consequence  become  immovably  fixed  to  the  spot ;  as  for  every 
foot  above  the  surface  of  the  water  they  have  nearly  two  be- 
neath, which  would  give  to  this  one  a  total  height  of  about  four 
hundred  feet. 

At  last  with  a  temperature  at  noon  as  low  as  12°,  under  a 
snowy,  misty  sky,  they  sighted  Cape  Farewell.  The  Forivard 
arrived  at  the  appointed  day ;  the  unknown  captain,  if  he  cared 
to  assume  his  place  in  such  gloomy  weather,  would  have  no  need 
to  complain. 

"  Then,"  said  the  doctor  to  himself,  "  there  is  this  famous  cape, 
with  its  appropriate  name  !  Many  have  passed  it,  as  we  do,  who 
were  destined  never  to  see  it  again !  Is  it  an  eternal  farewell 
to  one's  friends  in  Europe]  You  have  all  passed  it,  Frobisher, 
Knight,  Barlow,  Yaughan,  Scroggs,  Barentz,  Hudson,  Blosseville, 
Franklin,  Crozier,  Bellot,  destined  never  to  return  home  :  and  for 
you  this  cape  was  well  named  Cape  Farewell ! " 

It  was  towards  the  year  970  that  voyagers,  setting  out  from 
Iceland,  discovered  Greenland.  Sebastian  Cabot,  in  1498,  went 
as  high  as  latitude  5G°  ;  Gaspard  and  Michel  Cotreal,  from  1500 
to  1502,  reached  latitude  G0° ;  and  in  1576  Martin  Frobisher 
reached  the  inlet  which  bears  his  name. 

To  John  Davis  belongs  the  honor  of  having  discovered  the 
strait,  in  1585;  and  two  years  later  in  a  third  voyage  this  hardy 
sailor,  this  great  whaler,  reached  the  sixty-third  parallel,  twenty- 
seven  degrees  from  the,  Pole. 

Barentz  in  1596,  Weymouth  in  1602,  James  Hall  in  1605  and 
1607,  Hudson,  whose  name  was  given  to  the  large  bay  which 
runs  so  far  back  into  the  continent  of  America,  James  Poole  in 
1611,  went  more  or  less  far  into  the  straits,  seeking  the  North- 
west Passage,  the  discovery  of  which  would  have  greatly  short- 
ened the  route  between  the  two  worlds. 

Baffin,   in   1616,   found    in  the  bay  of  that  name   Lancaster 


44  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT T ERAS. 

Sound;  he  was  followed  in  1619  by  James  Monk,  and  in  1719 
by  Knight,  Barlow,  Vaughan,  and  Scroggs,  who  were  never  heard 
of  again. 

In  1776,  Lieutenant  Pickersgill,  sent  to  meet  Captain  Cook, 
who  tried  to  make  his  way  through  Behring  Strait,  reached 
latitude  68°;  the  next  year,  Young,  on.  the  same  errand,  went  as 
far  as  Woman's  Island. 

Then  came  James  Ross,  who  in  1818  sailed  all  around  the 
shores  of  Baffin's  Bay,  and  corrected  the  errors  on  the  charts  of 
his  predecessors. 

Finally,  in  1819  and  1820,  the  famous  Parry  made  his  way 
into  Lancaster  Sound.  In  spite  of  numberless  difficulties  he 
reached  Melville  Island,  and  won  the  prize  of  five  thousand 
pounds  offered  by  act  of  Parliament  to  the  English  sailors  who 
should  cross  the  meridian  at  a  latitude  higher  than  the  seventy- 
seventh  parallel. 

In  1826,  Beechey  touched  at  Chamisso  Island  ;  James  Ross 
wintered,  from  1829  to  1833,  in  Prince  Regent's  Inlet,  and,  among 
other  important  services,  discovered  the  magnetic  pole. 

During  this  time  Franklin,  by  a  land-journey,  defined  the 
northern  coast  of  America,  from  Mackenzie  River  to  Turnagain 
Point ;  Captain  Back  followed  the  same  route  from  1823  to  1835  ; 
and  these  explorations  were  completed  in  1839  by  Dease,  Simpson, 
and  Dr.  Rae. 

At  last,  Sir  John  Franklin,  anxious  to  discover  the  Northwest 
Passage,  left  England  in  1845,  with  the  Erehus  and  the  Terror ; 
he  entered  Baffin's  Bay,  and  since  his  leaving  Disco  Island  there 
has  been  no  news  of  his  expedition. 

His  disappearance  started  numerous  search-expeditions,  which 
have  effected  the  discovery  of  the  passage,  and  given  the  world 
definite  information  about  the  rugged  coasts  of  the  polar  lands. 
The  boldest  sailors  of  England,  France,  and  the  United  States 
hastened  to  these  terrible  latitudes  ;  and,  thanks  to  their  ex- 
ertions, the  tortuous,  complicated  map  of  these  regions  has  at 
last  been  placed  in  the  archives  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society 
of  London. 

The  strange  history  of  these  lands  crowded  on  the  imagination 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE. 


45 


of  the  doctor,  as  he  stood  leaning  on  the  rail,  and  gazing  on  the 
long  track  of  the  brig.  The  names  of  those  bold  sailors  thronged 
into  his  memory,  and  it  seemed  to  him  that  beneath  the  frozen 
arches  of  the  ice  he  could  see  the  pale  ghosts  of  those  who  never 
returned. 


CHAPTER    VIT. 


THE   ENTRANCE    OF    DAVIS    STRAIT. 

During  that  day  the  Forward  made  easy  progress  through  the 
loose  ice ;  the  breeze  was  in  a  good  quarter,  but  the  temperature 
was  very  low ;  the  wind  coming  across  the  ice-fields  was  thor^ 
oughly  chilled. 

At  night  the  strictest  care  was  necessary ;  the  icebergs  crowded 
together  in  this  narrow  passage ;  often  they  could  be  counted  by 
the  hundred  on  the  horizon;  they  had  been  loosened  from  the 
lofty  coasts  by  the  incessant  beating  of  the  waves  and  the  warmth 
of  the  spring  month,  and  they  were  floating  down  to  melt  away 
in  the  depths  of  the  ocean.  Often,  too,  they  came  across  large 
masses  of  floating  wood,  which  they  were  obliged  to  avoid,  so 


46 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT  TEE  AS. 


that  the  crow's-nest  was  placed  in  position  on  the  top  of  the  fore- 
mast; it  consisted  of  a  sort  of  tub,  in  which  the  ice-master, 
partly  sheltered  from  the  wind,  scanned  the  sea,  giving  notice  of 
the  ice  in  sight,  and  even,  if  necessary,  directing  the  ship's  course. 

_^  -  The  nights  were  short ;  since 

the  31st  of  January  the  sun 
had  reappeared  in  refraction, 
J  and  was  every  day  rising  higher 
and  higher  above  the  horizon. 
But  it  was  hid  by  the  snow, 
which,  if  it  did  not  produce 
utter  darkness,  rendered  navi- 
gation difficult. 

April  21st,  Cape  Desolation 
appeared  through  the  mist ;  hard 
work  was  wearying  the  crew ; 
since  the  brig  had  entered  the 
ice,  the  sailors  had  had  no  rest ; 
it  was  now  necessary  to  have 
recourse  to  steam  to  force  a  way 
through  the  accumulated  masses. 
The  doctor  and  Johnson  were 
talking  together  on  the  after- 
deck,  while  Shandon  was  snatch- 
ing a  few  hours  of  sleep  in  his 
cabin.  Clawbonny  was  very 
fond  of  talking  with  the  old 
sailor,  whose  numerous  voyages 
had  given  him  a  valuable  edu- 
^—^^^^  cation.  The  two  had  made  great 
1  friends  of  one  another. 

"YoLi   see.    Dr.   Clawbonny," 
said  Johnson,  "this  country  is 
not  like  any  other ;   its  name  is  Greenland,  but  there  are  very 
few  weeks  of  the  year  in  which  it  deserves  this  name." 

*'But,  Johnson,"  answered  the  doctor,  "who  can  say  whether 
in  the  tenth  century  this  name  did  not  suit  it  ^     More  than  one 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  47 

change  of  this  sort  has  taken  place  on  the  globe,  and  I  should 
astonish  you  much  more  by  saying  that,  according  to  Icelandic 
chroniclers,  two  hundred  villages  flourished  on  this  continent 
eight  or  nine  hundred  years  ago." 

"You  astonish  me  so  much,  Dr.  Clawbonny,  that  I  can't  be- 
lieve you ;  for  it 's  a  sterile  country." 

"  Well,  sterile  as  it  is,  it  supports  a  good  many  inhabitants, 
and  among  them  are  some  civilized  Europeans." 

"  Without  doubt ;  at  Disco  and  at  Upernavik  we  shall  find 
men  who  are  willing  to  live  in  such  a  climate ;  but  I  always  sup- 
posed they  stayed  there  from  necessity,  and  not  because  they 
liked  it." 

"  I  think  you  are  right ;  still,  men  get  accustomed  to  every- 
thing, and  these  Greenlanders  appear  to  me  better  off  than  the 
workingmen  of  our  large  cities  ;  they  may  be  imfortunate,  but 
they  are  not  miserable.  I  say  unfortunate,  but  that  is  not  ex- 
actly what  I  mean ;  in  fact,  if  they  are  not  quite  as  comfortable 
as  those  who  live  in  temperate  regions,  they,  nevertheless,  are 
accustomed  to  the  severity  of  the  climate,  and  find  in  it  an 
enjoyment  which  we  should  never  imagine." 

"  We  have  to  think  so.  Dr.  Clawbonny,  because  Heaven  is  just ; 
but  I  have  often  visited  these  coasts,  and  I  am  always  saddened 
at  the  sight  of  its  gloomy  loneliness ;  the  capes,  promontories,  and 
bays  ought  to  have  more  attractive  names,  for  Cape  Farewell  and 
Cape  Desolation  are  not  of  a  sort  to  cheer  sailors." 

"  I  have  often  made  the  same  remark,"  answered  the  doctor ; 
"  but  these  names  have  a  geographical  value  which  is  not  to  be 
forgotten  ;  they  describe  the  adventures  of  those  who  gave  them  ; 
along  with  the  names  of  Davis,  Baffin,  Hudson,  Ross,  Parry, 
Franklin,  Bellot,  if  I  find  Cape  Desolation,  I  also  find  soon  Mercy 
Bay ;  Cape  Providence  makes  up  for  Port  Anxiety,  Repulse  Bay 
brings  me  to  Cape  Eden,  and  after  leaving  Point  Turnagain  I 
rest  in  Refuge  Bay ;  in  that  way  I  have  under  my  eyes  the  whole 
succession  of  dangers,  checks,  obstacles,  successes,  despairs,  and 
victories  connected  with  the  great  names  of  my  country  ]  and, 
like  a  series  of  antique  medals,  this  nomenclature  gives  me  the 
whole  history  of  these  seas." 


48  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"  Well  reasoned,  Doctor ;  and  may  we  find  more  bays  of  Suc- 
cess in  our  journey  than  capes  of  Despair ! " 

"  I  hope  so,  Johnson ;  but,  tell  me,  have  the  crew  got  over 
their  fears  1 " 

"  Somewhat,  sir ;  and  yet,  to  tell  the  truth,  since  we  entered 
these  straits,  they  have  begun  to  be  very  uneasy  about  the 
unknown  captain  ;  more  than  one  expected  to  see  him  appear 
at  the  end  of  Greenland ;  and  so  far  no  news  of  him.  Be- 
tween ourselves.  Doctor,  don't  you  tliink  that  is  a  little 
strange  !  " 

"  Yes,  Johnson,  I  do." 

''Do  you  believe  the  captain  exists?" 

"  Without  any  doubt." 

"  But  what  reason  can  he  have  had  for  acting  in  this  way  1 " 

"  To  speak  frankly,  Johnson,  I  imagine  that  he  wants  to  get 
the  crew  so  far  away  that  it  will  be  impossible  for  them  to  turn 
back.     Now,  if  he  had  appeared  on  board  when  we  set  sail,  and 


every  one  had  known  where  we  were  going,  he  might  have  been 
embarrassed." 

''  How  so  r' 

"  Why,  if  he  wants  to  try  any  superhuman  enterprise,  if  he 
wants  to  go  where  so  many  have  failed,  do  you  think  he  would 
have  succeeded  in  shipping  a  crew  1  But,  once  on  the  way,  it  is 
easy  to  go  so  far  that  to  go  farther  becomes  an  absolute  neces- 
sity." 

"■  Possibly,  Doctor ;  I  have  known  more  than  one  bold  explorer, 
whose  name  alone  would  have  frightened  every  one,  and   who 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  49 

would    have  found  no  one  to  accompany  him  on   liis  perilous 
expeditions  —  " 

"  Except  me,"  said  the  doctor. 

"  And  me,"  continued  Johnson.  "  I  tell  you  our  captain  is 
probably  one  of  those  men.  At  any  rate,  we  shall  know  sooner 
or  later;  I  suppose  that  at  Upernavik  or  Melville  Bay  he  will 
come  quietly  on  board,  and  let  us  know  whither  he  intends  to 
take  the  ship." 

"Very  likely,  Johnson;  but  the  difficulty  will  be  to  get  to 
Melville  Bay ;  see  how  thick  the  ice  is  about  us  !  The  Forward 
can  hardly  make  her  way  through  it.  See  there,  that  huge 
expanse  ! " 

"  We  w^halers  call  that  an  ice-field,  that  is  to  say,  an  unbroken 
surface  of  ice,  the  limits  of  which  cannot  be  seen." 

"  And  what  do  you  call  this  broken  field  of  long  pieces  more  or 
less  closely  connected  1 " 

"  That  is  aVpack ;  if  it 's  round  we  call  it  a  patch,  and  a  stream 
if  it  is  long." 

"  And  that  floating  ice  1" 

"  That  is  drift-ice ;  if  a  little  higher  it  would  be  icebergs ; 
they  are  very  dangerous  to  ships, 
and  they  have  to  be  carefully  avoided. 
See,  down  there  on  the  ice-field,  that 
protuberance  caused  by  the  pressure 
of  the  ice  ;  we  call  that  a  hummock; 
if  the  base  were  under  w^ater,  we 
should  call  it  a  cake  ;  we  have  to 
give  names  to  them  all  to  distin- 
guish them." 

"Ah,  it  is  a  strange  sight,"  ex- 
claimed the  doctor,    as  he  gazed  at 
the  wonders  of  the  northern  seas ;  "  one's  imagination  is  touched 
by  all  these  different  shapes  ! " 

"  True,"  answered  Johnson,  "  the  ice  takes  sometimes  such 
curious  shapes;  and  we  men  never  fail  to  explain  them  in  our 
own  way." 

"  See  there,  Johnson ;  see  that  singular  collection  of  blocks  of 
3  D 


50 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT  TEE  AS. 


ice  !  Would  one  not  say  it  was  a  foreign  city,  an  Eastern  city  with 
minarets  and  mosques  in  the  moonlight  1  Farther  off  is  a  long 
row  of  Gothic  arches,  which  remind  us  of  the  chapel  of  Henry 
VII.,  or  the  Houses  of  Parliament." 

"  Everything  can  be  found  there ;  but  those  cities  or  churches 
are  very  dangerous,  and  we  must  not  go  too  near  them.  Some 
of  those  minarets  are  tottering,  and  the  smallest  of  them  would 
crush  a  ship  like  the  Forward.'^ 

"  And  yet  men  have  dared  to  come  into  these  seas  imder  sail 
alone !  How  could  a  ship  be  trusted  in  such  perils  without  the 
aid  of  steam  1 " 

"  Still  it  has  been  done  ;  when  the  wind  is  unfavorable,  and  I 
have  known  that  happen  more  than  once,  it  is  usual  to  anchor 
to  one  of  these  blocks  of  ice  ;  we  should  float  more  or  less  around 
with  them,  but  we  would  wait  for  a  fair  wind ;  it  is  true  that, 
travelling  in  that  way,  months  would  be 
sometimes  wasted  where  we  shall  need 
only  a  few  days." 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  said  the  doctor, 
"  that  the  temperature  is  falling." 

"  That  would  be  a  pity,"  answered 
Johnson,  '^  for  there  will  have  to  be  a 
thaw  before  these  masses  separate,  and 
float  away  into  the  Atlantic ;  besides,  they 
are  more  numerous  in  Davis  Strait,  be- 
cause the  two  stretches  of  land  approach 
one  another  between  Cape  Walsingham 
and  Holsteinborg ;  but  above  latitude  67° 
we  shall  find  in  May  and  June  more  navi- 
gable seas." 

"  Yes ;  but  we  must  get  through  this 
first." 

"  We   must  get   through.    Doctor ;    in 

"  June  and  July  we  should  have  found  the 

passage  free,  as  do  the  whalers ;    but  our  orders  were   strict ; 

we  had  to  be  here  in  Aprih     If  I  'm  not  very  much  mistaken, 

our  captain  is  a  sound  fellow  with  an  idea  firm  in  his  head ;  his 


Would  one  not  say  it  was  a  foreign  city,  an  Eastern  city,  with  minarets  and 
mosques  in  the  moonlight  ? "  —  Page  50. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


51 


only  reason  for  leaving  so  early  was  to  go  far.  Whoever  survives 
will  see." 

The  doctor  was  right  about  the  falling  of  the  temperature ;  at 
noon  the  thermometer  stood  at  6°,  and  a  breeze  was  blowing  from 
the  northwest,  which,  while  it  cleared  the  sky,  aided  the  current 
in  accumulating  the  floating  ice  in  the  path  of  the  Forward,  It 
did  not  all  follow  the  same  course ;  often  some  pieces,  and  very 
high  ones,  too,  floated  in  the  opposite  direction  under  the  in- 
fluence of  a  submarine  current. 

The  difficulties  of  this  navigation  may  be  readily  understood  ; 
the  engineers  had  no  rei)ose;  the  engines  were  controlled  from 
the  bridge  by  means  of  levers,  which  started,  stopped,  and  reversed 
them  instantly,  at  the  orders  of  the  officer  in  command.  Some- 
times it  was  necessary  to  hasten  forward  to  enter  an  opening  in 
the  ice,  again  to  race  with  a  mass  of  ice  which  threatened  to 
block  up  their  only  egress,  or  some  piece,  suddenly  upsetting, 
obliged  the  brig  to  back  quickly,  in  order  to  escape  destruction. 
This  mass  of  ice,  carried  and  accumulated  by  the  great  polar 
current,  was  hurried  through  the  strait,  and  if  the  frost  should 
unite  it,  it  would  present  an  impassable  barrier  to  the  Forward. 


In  these  latitudes  numberless  birds  were  to  be  found  ;  petrels 
and  contremaitres  were  flying  here  and  there,  with  deafening 
cries ;  there  were  also  many  gulls,  with  their  large  heads,  short 
necks,  and  small  beaks,  which  were  extending  their  long  wings 


52  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

and  braving  the  snow  which  the  storm  was  whirling  about.  This 
profusion  of  winged  beings  enlivened  the  scene. 

Numerous  pieces  of  wood  were  drifting  along,  clashing  con- 
tinually into  one  another ;  a  few  whales  with  large  heads  ap- 
proached the  ship ;  but  they  could  not  think  of  chasing  them, 
although  Simpson,  the  harpooner,  earnestly  desired  it.  Towards 
evening  several  seals  were  seen,  which,  with  their  noses  just  above 
the  water,  were  swimming  among  the  great  pieces  of  ice. 

On  the  2 2d  the  temperature  was  still  foiling ;  the  Forward 
carried  a  great  deal  of  steam  to  reach  an  easier  sailing-place  ;  the 
wind  blew  steadily  from  the  northwest ;  the  sails  were  furled. 

During  Sunday  the  sailors  had  little  to  do.  After  divine 
service,  which  was  read  by  Shandon,  the  crew  betook  themselves 
to  chasing  wild  birds,  of  which  they  caught  a  great  many.  These 
birds,  prepared  according  to  Dr.  Clawbonny's  method,  were  an 
agreeable  addition  to  the  messes  of  the  officers  and  crew. 

At  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  Forward  sighted  the  Kin 
of  Sael,  which  lay  east  one  quarter  northeast,  and  the  Mount 
Sukkertop,  southeast  one  quarter  east  half-east ;  the  sea  was  very 
high ;  from  time  to  time  a  dense  fog  descended  suddenly  from 
the  gray  sky.  Notwithstanding,  at  noon  they  were  able  to  take 
an  observation.  The  ship  was  found  to  be  in  latitude  %b°  20' 
and  longitude  54°  22'.  They  would  have  to  go  two  degrees 
farther  north  before  they  would  find  clearer  sailing. 

During  the  three  following  days,  the  24th,  25th,  and  2Gth  of 
April,  they  had  uninterruptedly  to  fight  with  the  ice ;  the  man- 
agement of  the  engines  became  very  tedious ;  every  minute  steam 
was  shut  ofi^  or  reversed,  and  escaped  from  the  safety-valve. 

In  the  dense  mist  their  approach  to  the  icebergs  could  be 
known  only  by  the  dull  roar  of  the  avalanches  ;  then  the  vessel 
would  shift  its  course  at  once ;  then  there  was  the  danger  of  run- 
ning into  the  masses  of  frozen  fresh  water,  which  were  as  clear 
as  crystal  and  as  hard  as  stone.  Richard  Shandon  used  to  take 
aboard  a  quantity  of  this  ice  every  day  to  supply  the  ship  with 
fresh  water. 

The  doctor  could  not  accustom  himself  to  the  optical  illusions 
produced  by  refraction;  indeed,  an  iceberg  ten  or  twelve  miles 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE. 


53 


distant  used  to  seem  to  him  to  be  a  small  piece  of  ice  close  by ; 
he  tried  to  get  used  to  this  strange  phenomenon,  in  order  to  be 
able  by  and  by  to  overcome  the  mistakes  of  his  eyesight. 

At  last,  both  by  towing  the  brig  along  the  fields  of  ice  and  by 
pushing  off  threatening  blocks  with  poles,  the  crew  was  thor- 
oughly exhausted;  and  yet,  on  the  27th  of  April,  the  Forward 
was  still  detained  on  the  impassable  Polar  Circle. 


CHAPTER    VIII 


THE    TALK     OF    THE     CREW. 

Nevertheless,  by  taking  advantages  of  such  openings  as  there 
were,  the  Forward  succeeded  in  getting  a  few  minutes  farther 
north  ;  but,  instead  of  escaping  the  enemy,  it  would  soon  be 
necessary  to  attack  it ;  ice-fields  of  many  miles  in  extent  were 
drawing  together,  and  as  these  moving  masses  often  represent  a 
pressure  of  ten  millions  of  tons,  they  were  obliged  to  take  every 
precaution  against  being  crushed  by  them.  Ice-saws  were  placed 
outside  the  vessel,  where  thev  could  be  used  without  delav. 


54  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  UATTERAS. 

Some  of  the  crew  endured  their  hard  toil  without  a  murmur, 
but  others  complained  or  even  refused  to  obey  orders.  While 
they  were  putting  the  saws  in  place,  Garry,  Bolton,  Pen,  and  Grip- 
per  exchanged  their  diverse  opinions  as  follows. 

"  Deuce  take  it,"  said  Bolton,  cheerfully;  "I  don't  know  why 
it  just  occurs  to  me  that  in  Water  Street  there  's  a  comfort- 
able tavern,  where  one  might,  be  very  well  off  between  a  glass 
of  gin  and  a  bottle  of  porter.  Can  you  see  it  from  here,  Grip- 
per  % " 

.  "  To  tell  the  truth,"  answered  the  sailor  who  had  been  ad- 
dressed, and  who  generally  pretended  to  be  very  sullen,  "I  must 
say  I  can't  see  it  from  here." 

"  That 's  merely  your  way  of  talking,  Gripper ;  it  is  evident 
that,  in  those  snow  towns  which  Dr.  Clawbonny  is  always  admir- 
ing, there  's  no  tavern  where  a  poor  sailor  can  moisten  his  throat 
with  a  drink  or  two  of  brandy." 

"  You  may  be  sure  of  that,  Bolton ;  and  you  might  add  that 
on  board  of  this  ship  there  's  no  way  of  getting  properly  refreshed. 
A  strange  idea,  sending  people  into  the  northern  seas,  and  giving 
them  nothing  to  drink  !  " 

"  Well,"  answered  Garry,  "  have  you  forgotten,  Gripper,  what 
the  doctor  said  ^  One  must  go  without  spirits  if  he  expects  to 
escape  the  scurvy,  remain  in  good  health,  and  sail  far." 

"  I  don't  care  to  sail  far,  Garry  ;  and  I  think  it 's  enough  to 
have  come  as  far  as  this,  and  to  try  to  get  through  here  where 
the  Devil  does  n't  mean  to  let  us  through." 

"  Well,  we  sha'  n't  get  through,"  retorted  Pen.  "  0,  when  I 
think  I  have  already  forgotten  how  gin  tastes  !  " 

"  But,"  said  Bolton,  "  remember  what  the  doctor  said." 

"  0,"  answered  Pen,  with  his  rough  voice,  ''  that 's  all  very  well 
to  say  !  I  fancy  that  they  are  economizing  it  under  the  pretext 
of  saving  our  health." 

"  Perhaps,  that  devil  Pen  is  right,"  said  Gripper. 

"  Come,  come  !  "  replied  Bolton,  "  his  nose  is  too  red  for  that ; 
and  if  a  little  abstinence  should  make  it  a  trifle  paler.  Pen  won't 
need  to  be  pitied." 

"  Don't  trouble  yourself  about  my  nose,"  was  the  answer,  for 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  55 

Pen  was  rather  vexed.  "  My  nose  does  n't  need  your  advice  ;  it 
does  n't  ask  for  it ;  you  'd  better  mind  your  own  business." 

"  Come,  don't  be  angry,  Pen ;  I  did  n't  think  your  nose  was  so 
tender.  I  should  be  as  ghid  as  any  one  else  to  have  a  glass  of 
whiskey,  especially  on  such  a  cold  day ;  but  if  in  the  long  run  it 
does  more  harm  than  good,  why,  I  'm  very  willing  to  get  along 
without  it." 

"  You  may  get  along  without  it,"  said  Warren,  the  stoker,  who 
had  joined  them,  "  but  it  's  not  everybody  on  board  who  gets 
along  without  it." 

"  What  do  you  mean,  Warren  1 "  asked  Garry,  looking  at  him 
intently. 

"  I  mean  that  for  one  purpose  or  another  there  is  liquor  aboard, 
and  I  fancy  that  aft  they  don't  get  on  without  it." 

"  What  do  you  know  about  it  1 "  asked  Garry. 

Warren  could  not  answer ;  he  spoke  for  the  sake  of  speaking. 

"  You  see,  Garry,"  continued  Bolton,  "  that  Warren  knows 
nothing  about  it." 

"  Well,"  said  Pen,  "  we  '11  ask  the  commander  for  a  ration  of 
gin  ;  we  deserve  it,  and  we  '11  see  what  he  '11  say." 

"I  advise  you  not  to,"  said  Garry. 

"  Why  not  I "  cried  Pen  and  Gripper. 

"  Because  the  commander  will  refuse  it.  You  knew  what  the 
conditions  were  when  you  shipped  ;  you  ought  to  think  of  that 
now." 

"  Besides,"  said  Bolton,  who  was  not  averse  to  taking  Gany's 
side,  for  he  liked  him,  "  Richard  Shandon  is  not  master ;  he  's 
under  orders  like  the  rest  of  us." 

"  Whose  orders  %  "  asked  Pen. 

"  The  captain's." 

"  Ah,  that  ridiculous  captain's  !  "  cried  Pen.  '•  Don't  you 
know  there  's  no  more  captain  than  there  is  tavern  on  the  ice  % 
That 's  a  mean  way  of  refusing  politely  what  we  ask  for." 

"  But  there  is  a  captain,"  persisted  Bolton ;  "  and  I  'II  wager 
two  months'  pay  that  we  shall  see  him  before  long." 

"  All  right  !  "  said  Pen  ;  "  I  should  like  to  give  him  a  piece  of 
my  mind." 


56  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

"  Who  's  talking  about  the  captahi  1 "  said  a  new  speaker. 

It  was  Clifton,  who  was  inclined  to  be  superstitious  and  en- 
vious at  the  same  time. 

"  Is  there  anj  news  about  the  captain  1,  "  he  asked. 

"  No,"  a  single  voice  answered. 

"  Well,  I  expect  to  find  him  settled  in  his  cabin  some  fine 
morning,  and  without  any  one's  knowing  how  or  whence  he  came 
aboard." 

"  Nonsense  ! "  answered  Bolton  ;  "  you  imagine,  Clifton,  that 
he  's  an  imp,  a  hobgoblin  such  as  are  seen  in  the  Scotch  High- 
lands." 

"  Laugh  if  you  want  to,  Bolton  ;  that  won't  alter  my  opinion. 
Every  day  as  I  pass  the  cabin  I  peep  in  through  the  keyhole, 
and  one  of  these  days  I  '11  tell  you  what  he  looks  like,  and  how 
he  's  made." 

"  0,  the  devil !  "  said  Pen ;  "  he  '11  look  like  everj^body  else. 
And  if  he  wants  to  lead  us  where  we  don't  want  to  go,  we  '11  let 
him  know  what  we  think  about  it." 

"  All  right,"  said  Bolton  ;  "  Pen  does  n't  know  him,  and  wants 
to  quarrel  with  him  already." 

"  Who  does  n't  know  all  about  him  ? "  asked  Clifton,  with  the  air 
of  a  man  who  has  the  whole  story  at  his  tongue's  end ;  "  I  should 
like  to  know  who  does  n't." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ] "  asked  Gripper. 

"  I  know  very  well  what  I  mean." 

"  But  we  don't." 

"  Well,  Pen  has  already  had  trouble  with  him." 

"  With  the  captain  %  " 

"  Yes,  the  dog-captain  ;  for  it  's  the  same  thing  jDrecisely." 

The  sailors  gazed  at  one  another,  incapable  of  replying. 

"Dog  or  man,"  muttered  Pen,  between  his  teeth,  "I'll  bet 
he  '11  get  his  account  settled  one  of  these  days." 

"  Why,  Clifton,"  asked  Bolton,  seriously,  "  do  you  imagine,  as 
Johnson  said  in  joke,  that  that  dog  is  the  real  captain  1 " 

"  Certainly,  I  do,"  answered  Clifton,  with  some  warmth  ;  "  and 
if  you  had  watched  him  as  carefidly  as  I  have,  you  'd  have  noticed 
his  strange  ways." 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  57 

"  What  ways  ]   Tell  us." 

"  Have  n't  you  noticed  the  way  he  walks  up  and  down  the 
poop-deck  as  if  he  commanded  the  ship,  keeping  his  eye  on  the 
sails  as  if  he  were  on  watch  % " 

"  That 's  so,"  said  Gripper  ;  "  and  one  evening  I  found  him  with 
his  paws  on  the  wheel." 


"  Impossible  !  "  said  Bolton. 

"  And  then,"  continued  Clifton,  "  does  n't  he  run  out  at  night 
on  the  ice-fields  without  caring  for  the  bears  or  the  cold  1 " 

"  That 's  true,"  said  Bolton. 

"  Did  you  ever  see  him  making  up  to  the  men  like  an  honest 

dog,  or  hanging  arormd  the  kitchen,  and  followino:  the  cook  when 

he  's  carrying  a  savory  dish   to  the  officers  ?     Have  n't  you  all 

heard  him  at  night,  when  he  's  run  two  or  three  miles  away  from 

3* 


58  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

the  vessel,  howling  so  that  he  makes  your  blood  ran  cold,  and 
that 's  not  easy  in  weather  like  this  V  Did  you  ever  seen  him  eat 
anything]  He  never  takes  a  morsel  from  any  one;  he  never 
touches  the  food  that 's  given  him,  and,  unless  some  one  on  board 
feeds  him  secretly,  I  can  say  he  lives  without  eating.  Now,  if 
that 's  not  strange,  I  'm  no  better  than  a  beast  myself." 

"  Upon  my  word,"  answered  Bell,  the  carpenter,  who  had  heard 
all  of  Clifton's  speech,  "  it  may  be  so." 

But  all  the  other  sailors  were  silent. 

"  Well,  as  for  me,"  continued  Clifton,  "  I  can  say  that  if  you 
don't  believe,  there  are  wiser  people  on  board  who  don't  seem  so 
sure." 

*'  Do  you  mean  the  mate  1 "  asked  Bolton. 

"  Yes,  the  mate  and  the  doctor." 

"  Do  you  think  they  fancy  the  same  thing  1 " 

"  I  have  heard  them  talking  about  it,  and  they  could  make  no 
more  out  of  it  than  we  can  ;  they  imagined  a  thousand  things 
which  did  not  satisfy  them  in  the  least." 

"  Did  they  say  the  same  things  about  the  dog  that  you  did, 
Clifton  ? "  asked  the  carpenter. 

"  If  they  were  not  talking  about  the  dog,"  answered  Clifton, 
who  was  fairly  cornered,  "  they  were  talking  about  the  captain ; 
it 's  exactly  the  same  thing,  and  they  confessed  it  w^as  all  very 
strange." 

"  Well,  my  friends,"  said  Bell,  ''  do  you  want  to  hear  my 
opinion  *? " 

"  What  is  it  !  "  they  all  cried. 

"  It  is  that  there  is  not,  and  there  will  not  be,  any  other  cap- 
tain than  Richard  Shandon." 

"  And  the  letter  1 "  said  Clifton. 

"  The  letter  was  genuine,"  answered  Bell ;  "  it  is  perfectly  true 
that  some  unknown  person  has  equipped  the  Forward  for  an 
'  expedition  in  the  ice ;  but  the  ship  once  off,  no  one  will  come  on 
board." 

"  Well,"  asked  Bolton,  "  where  is  the  ship  going  to  % " 

"  I  don't  know  ;  at  the  right  time,  Richard  Shandon  will  get 
the  rest  of  the  instructions." 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  59 

"  But  from  whom  1 " 

'« Fi-om  whom  1 " 

"  Yes,  in  what  way  % "  asked  Bolton,  who  was  becoming  per- 
sistent. 

"  Come,  Bell,  an  answer,"  said  the  other  sailors. 

"  From  whom  ?  in  what  way  1     0,  I  'm  sure  I  don't  know  !  " 

''  Well,  from  the  dog  !  "  cried  Clifton.  ''  He  has  already  written 
once,  and  he  can  again.  0,  if  I  only  knew  half  as  much  as  he 
does,  I  might  be  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty  ! " 

*'  So,"  added  Bolton,  in  conclusion,  "  you  persist  in  saying  that 
dog  is  the  captain  1 " 

"  Yes,  I  do." 

"  Well,"  said  Pen,  gruffly,  "  if  that  beast  doesn't  want  to  die  in 
a  dog's  skin,  he  'd  better  hurry  and  turn  into  a  man  ;  for,  on  my 
woi'd,  I  '11  finish  him." 

"  Why  so  % "  asked  Garry. 

"  Because  I  want  to,"  answered  Pen,  brutally ;  "  and  I  don't 
care  what  any  one  says." 

"  You  have  been  talking  long  enough,  men,"  shouted  the  boat- 
swain, advancing  at  the  moment  when  the  conversation  threat- 
ened to  become  dangerous  ;  "  to  work,  and  have  the  saws  put  in 
quicker !     We  must  get  through  the  ice." 

"  Good  !  on  Friday  too,"  answered  Clifton,  shrugging  his 
shoulders.     "  You  won't  find  it  so  easy  to  cross  the  Polar  Circle." 

Whatever  the  reason  may  have  been,  the  exertions  of  the 
crew  on  that  day  were  nearly  fruitless.  The  Forward,  plunging, 
under  a  full  head  of  steam,  against  the  floes,  could  not  separate 
them  ;  they  were  obliged  to  lie  at  anchor  that  nigiit. 

On  Saturday,  the  temperature  fell  still  lower  under  tlie  influ- 
ence of  an  east-wind  ;  the  sky  cleared  up,  and  they  all  had  a 
wide  view  over  the  white  expense,  which  shone  brilliantly  beneath 
the  bright  rays  of  the  sun.  At  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the 
thermometer  stood  at  8°  above  zero. 

The  doctor  was  tempted  to  remain  quietly  in  his  cabin,  or 
read  over  the  accounts  of  arctic  journeys ;  but  he  asked  himself, 
following  his  usual  habit,  what  w^ould  be  the  most  disagreeable 
thing  he  could  do  at  that  moment.     He  thought  that  to  go  on 


60 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT T ERAS. 


deck  on  such  a  cold  day  and  help  the  men  would  not  be  attrac- 
tive. So,  faithful  to  his  line  of  conduct,  he  left  his  well-warmed 
cabin,  and  went  out  to  help  tow  the  ship.  He  looked  strange 
with  his  green  glasses,  which  he  wore  to  protect  his  eyes  against 
the  brilliancy  of  the  sun,  and  after  that  he 
always  took  good  care  to  wear  snow-spectacles 
as  a  security  against  the  inflammation  of  the 
eyes,  which  is  so  common  in  these  latitudes. 

By  evening  the  Forivard  had  got  several 
miles  farther  north,  thanks  to  the  energy  of 
the  men  and  the  intelligence  of  Shandon, 
who  was  quick  at  ntilizing  every  favorable 
circumstance ;  at  midnight  they  crossed  the  sixty-sixth  parallel, 
and  the  lead  announcing  a  depth  of  twenty-three  fathoms,  Shan- 
don knew  that  he  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  shoal  on 
which  her  Majesty's  ship  Victory  grounded.  Land  lay  thiity 
miles  to  the  east. 


But  then  the  mass  of  ice,  which  had  hitherto  been  stationary, 
separated,  and  began  to  move  ;  icebergs  seemed  to  rise  in  all 
points  of  the  horizon  ;  the  brig  was  caught  in  a  number  of  whirl- 
pools of  irresistible  force  ;  controlling  her  became  so  hard,  that 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  CI 

Garry,  the  best  steersman,  took  the  helm  ;  the  masses  began  to 
close  behind  the  brig,  hence  it  was  necessary  to  cut  through  the 
ice ;  both  prudence  and  duty  commanded  them  to  go  forward. 
The  difficulties  were  enhanced  by  the  impossibility  of  Shandon's 
fixing  the  direction  of  the  brig  among  all  the  changing  points, 
which  were  continually  shifting  and  presenting  no  definite  point 
to  be  aimed  at. 

The  crew  were  divided  into  two  forces,  and  one  stationed  on 
the  starboard,  the  other  on  the  larboard  side;  every  man  w^as 
given  a  long  iron-headed  pole,  with  which  to  ward  off  threatening 
pieces  of  ice.  S(.)on  the  Forward  entered  such  a  narrow  passage 
between  two  lofty  pieces,  that  the  ends  of  the  yards  touched  its 
solid  walls  ;  gradually  it  penetrated  farther  into  a  winding  valley 
filled  with  a  whirlwind  of  snow,  while  the  floating  ice  was  crash- 
ing ominously  all  Jibout. 

But  soon  it  was  evident  that  there  was  no  outlet  to  this 
gorge ;  a  huge  block,  caught  in  the  channel,  was  floating  swiftly 
down  to  the  Forward;  it  seemed  impossible  to  escape  it,  and 
equally  impossible  to  return  through  an  already  closed  path. 

Shandon  and  Johnson,  standing  on  the  forward  deck,  were 
viewing  their  position.  Shandon  with  his  right  hand  signalled  to 
the  man  at  the  wheel  what  direction  he  was  to  take,  and  with 
his  left  hand  he  indicated  to  James  Wall  the  orders  for  the 
engines. 

"What  will  be  the  end  of  thisl"  asked  the  doctor  of  Johnson. 

"  What  pleases  God,"  answered  the  boatswain. 

The  block  of  ice,  eight  hundred  feet  high,  was  hardly  more 
than  a  cable's  length  from  the  Forward,  and  threatened  to  crush 
it. 

Pen  broke  out  with  a  fearful  oath. 

"  Silence  ! "  cried  a  voice  which  it  was  impossible  to  recognize 
in  the  roar  of  the  hurricane. 

The  mass  appeared  to  be  fixlling  upon  the  brig,  and  there  was 
an  indefinable  moment  of  tcn*or ;  the  men,  dropping  their  poles, 
ran  aft  in  spite  of  Shandon's  orders. 

Suddenly,  a  terrible  noise  was  heard  ;  a  real  water-spout  fell 
on  the  deck  of  the  brig,  which  was  lifted  in  the  air  by  a  huge 


62 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  H ATT  ERAS. 


wave.  The  crew  uttered  a  cry  of  terror,  while  Garry,  still  firm  at 
the  wheel,  kept  the  course  of  the  Forward  steady,  in  spite  of  the 
fearful  lurch. 

And  when  they  looked  for  the  mountain  of  ice,  it  had  disap- 
peared ;  the  passage  was  free,  and  beyond,  a  long  channel,  lit  up 
by  the  sun,  allowed  the  brig  to  continue  her  advance. 

"Well,  Dr.  Clawbonny,"  said  Johnson,  "can  you  explain 
thatr' 

"  It 's  very  simple,  m}^  friend,"  answered  the  doctor.  "  It  hap- 
pens very  often ;  when  these  floating  masses  get  detached  in  a 
thaw,  they  float  away  in  perfect  equilibrium;  but  as  they  get 
towards  the  south,  where  the  water  is  relatively  warmer,  their 
base,  eaten  away  by  running  into  other  pieces,  begins  to  melt, 
and  be  undermined ;  then  comes  a  moment  when  the  centre  of 
gravity  is  displaced,  and  they  turn  upside  down.  Only,  if  this 
had  happened  two  minutes  later,  it  would  have  fallen  on  the  brig 
and  crushed  us  beneath  it." 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE. 


63 


CHAPTER    IX. 

/ 

ANOTHER    LETTER. 

The  Polar  Circle  was  crossed  at  last ;  on  the  30th  of  April,  at 
midday,  the  Forward  passed  by  Holsteinborg  ;  picturesque  moun- 
tains arose  in  the  east.  The  sea  appeared  almost  free  of  ice,  or, 
more  exactly,  the  ice  could  be  avoided.  The  wind  was  from  the 
southeast,  and  the  brig,  under  foresail,  staysail,  and  topsails, 
sailed  up  Baffin's  Bay. 

That  day  was  exceptionally  calm  and  the  crew  was  able  to  get 
some  rest ;  numerous  birds  were  swimming  and  flying  about  the 
-ship  ;  among  others,  the  doctor  noticed  some  wild  birds  which 
were  very  like  teal,  with  black  neck,  wings,  and  back,  and  a  white 
breast;  they  were  continually  diving,  and  often  remained  more 
than  forty  seconds  under  water. 

This  day  would  not 
have  been  marked  by 
any  new  incident,  if  the 
following  extraordinary 
fact  had  not  taken  place. 

At  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  on  returning  to 
his  cabin  after  his  watch 
was  over,  Richard  Shandon  found  on  his  table  a  letter,  addressed 
as  follows  :  — 

To  Commander  Richard  Shandon, 

On  board  the  Forvmrd, 

Baffin's  Bay. 

Shandon  could  not  believe  his  eyes  ;  but  before  reading  it,  he 
summoned  the  doctor,  James  Wall,  and  the  boatswain,  and  showed 
them  the  letter. 

"It's  getting  interesting,"  said  Johnson. 

"  It 's  delightful,"  thought  the  doctor. 


64  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"  Well,"  cried  Shandon,  "  at  last  we  shall  know  his  secret." 
He    tore   open   the    envelope    rapidly,    and   read    the    follow- 
ing :  — 

Commander  :  The  captain  of  the  Forward  is  satisfied  Mdth  the 
coolness,  skill,  and  courage  which  the  crew,  officers,  and  you,  yourself, 
have  shown  of  late  ;  he  begs  of  you  to  express  his  thanks  to  the  crew. 

Be  good  enough  to  sail  due  Aorth  towards  Melville  Bay,  and  thence 
try  to  penetrate  into  Smith's  Sound. 

K.  Z., 

Captain  of  the  Fonvard. 
Monday,  April  30,  Off  Cape  Walsingham. 

"  And  is  that  all  'I "  cried  the  doctor. 

"  That 's  all,"  answered  Shandon. 

The  letter  fell  from  his  hands. 

"  Well,"  said  W^all,  "  this  imaginary  captain  says  nothing  about 
coming  on  board,     I  don't  believe  he  ever  will." 

"  Bat  how  did  this  letter  get  here  1 "  asked  Johnson. 

Shandon  was  silent. 

"  Mr.  Wall  is  right,"  answered  the  doctor,  who  had  picked  up 
the  letter,  and  who  was  turning  it  over  with  hands  as  well  as  in 
his  mind.  "The  captain  won't  come  on  board,  and  for  an  excel- 
lent reason." 

"  What  is  it  "i "  asked  Shandon,  quickly. 

"  Because  he  's  on  board  now,"  answered  the  doctor,  simply. 

"  Now  !  "  exclaimed  Shandon,  "  what  do  you  mean  1 " 

"  How  else  can  you  explain  the  arrival  of  this  letter  1 " 

Johnson  nodded  approvingly. 

"  Impossible  !  "  said  Shandon,  warmly.  "  I  know  all  the  men 
in  the  crew  ;  can  he  have  smuggled  himself  into  their  number 
since  we  left  1  It 's  impossible,  I  tell  you.  For  more  than  two 
years  I  've  seen  every  one  of  them  more  than  a  hundred  times  in 
Liverpool ;  so  your  conjecture,  Doctor,  is  untenable." 

"  Well,  what  do  you  admit,  Shandon  ?  " 

"  Everything,  except  that.  I  admit  that  the  captain  or  some 
tool  of  his,  for  all  I  know,  may  have  taken  advantage  of  the  dark- 
ness, the  mist,  or  whatever  you  please,  to  slip  on  board  ;  we  arc 
not  far  from  shore  ;  there  are  the  kayaks  of  the  Esquimaux  which 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  (35 

could  get  through  the  ice  without  our  seeing  them  ;  so  some  one 
may  have  come  on  board  the  ship,  left  the  letter,  —  the  fog  was 
thick  enough  to  make  this  possible." 

"  And  to  prevent  them  from  seeing  the  brig,"  answered  the 
doctor ;  "  if  we  did  n't  see  the  intruder  slip  aboard  the  Forward, 
how  could  he  see  the  Forward  in  the  fog  1 " 

"  That  's  true,"  said  Johnson. 

"  So  I  return  to  my  explanation,"  said  the  doctor ;  "  what  do 
3'ou  think  of  it,  Shandon  ] " 

"  Whatever  you  please,"  answered  Shandon,  hotly,  "  except  that 
the  man  is  on  board." 

"  Perhaps,"  added  Wall,  ''there  is  some  man  in  the  crew  who 
is  acting  under  his  instructions." 

"  Perhaps,"  said  the  doctor. 

"  But  who  can  it  be  1 "  asked  Shandon.  "  I  've  known  all  my 
men  for  a  long  time." 

"  At  any  rate,"  resumed  Johnson,  "  if  this  captain  presents 
himself,  whether  as  man  or  devil,  we  shall  receive  him  ;  but 
there  's  something  else  to  be  drawn  from  this  letter." 

"  What  is  that  %  "   asked  Shandon. 

"  It  is  that  we  must  go  not  only  into  Melville  Bay,  but  also 
into  Smith's  Sound." 

"You  are  right,"  said  the  doctor. 

"  Smith's  Sound,"  repeated  Shandon,  mechanically. 

"So  it 's  very  plain,"  continued  Johnson,  "that  the  Forward  is 
not  intended  to  seek  the  Northwest  Passage,  since  we  leave  to  the 
left,  the  only  way  towards  it,  that  is  to  say,  Lancaster  Sound. 
This  would  seem  to  promise  a  difficult  journey  in  unknown  seas." 

"  Yes,  Smith's  Sound,"  replied  Shandon  ;  "  that 's  the  route 
Kane,  the  American,  took  in  1853,  and  it  was  full  of  dangers. 
For  a  long  time  he  was  given  up  for  lost.  Well,  if  we  must  go, 
we  '11  go.     But  how  far  ]     To  the  Pole  % " 

"  And  why  not  % "  cried  the  doctor. 

The  mention  of  such  a  foolhardy  attempt  made  the  boatswain 
shrug  his  shoulders. 

"  Well,"  said  James  Wall,  "  to  come  back  to  the  captain,  if  he 
exists.     I  don't  see  that  there  are  any  places  on  the  coast  of 

E 


G()  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

Greenland  except  Di^co  and  Upernavik,  where  he  can  be  waiting 
for  us ;  in  a  few  days  that  question  will  be  settled." 

"But,"  asked  the  doctor  of  Shandon,  "are  you  not  going  to 
tell  the  crew  about  this  letter  1 " 

"  With  the  commander's  permission,"  answered  Johnson,  "  I 
should  not  do  so." 

"  And  why  not  1 "  asked  Shandon. 

"  Because  everything  mysterious  and  extraordinary  tends  to 
discourage  the  men ;  they  are  already  very  much  troubled,  as  it 
is,  about  the  nature  of  the  journey.  Now,  if  any  supernatural 
circumstances  should  become  known,  it  might  be  harmful,  and 
perhaps  at  a  critical  moment  we  should  not  be  able  to  count  on 
them.     What  do  you  think,  Commander  1 " 

"And  what  do  you  think.  Doctor T'  asked  Shandon. 

"  Boatswain  Johnson  seems  to  me  to  reason  well,"  answered 
the  doctor. 

"  And  you,  James  1 " 

"  Having  no  better  opinion,  I  agree  with  these  gentlemen." 

Shandon  reflected  for  a  few  minutes ;  he  reread  the  letter 
attentively. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  ''your  opinion  is  certainly  worthy  of 
respect,  but  I  cannot  adopt  it." 

"  Why  not,  Shandon  1 "  asked  the  doctor. 

''  Because  the  instructions  in  this  letter  are  formal ;  it  tells  me 
to  give  the  captain's  thanks  to  the  crew  ;  now,  hitherto  I  have 
strictly  obeyed  his  orders,  in  whatever  w^ay  they  have  been  given 
to  me,  and  I  cannot  —  " 

"  Still  —  "  interposed  Johnson,  who  had  a  warrantable  dread 
of  the  effect  of  such  communications  on  the  men's  spirits. 

"  My  dear  Johnson,"  said  Shandon,  "  I  understand  your  objec- 
tion ;  your  reasons  are  very  good,  but  read  that  :  — 

"  He  begs  of  you  to  express  his  thanks  to  the  crew." 

"Do  as  he  bids,"  replied  Johnson,  who  was  always  a  strict  dis- 
ciplinarian.    "  Shall  I  assemble  the  crew  on  deck  1 " 

"  Yes,"  answered  Shandon. 

The  news  of  a  message  from  the  captain  was  immediately 
whispered  throughout  the  ship.     The  sailors  took  their  station 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE. 


without  delay,  and  the  commander  read  aloud  the  mysterious 
letter. 

It  was  received  with  dead  silence ;  the  crew  separated  under 
the  influence  of  a  thousand  suppositions ;  Clifton  had  plenty  of 
material  for  any  superstitious  vagaries  ;  a  great  deal  was  ascribed 
by  him  to  the  dog-captain,  and  he  never  failed  to  salute  him 
every  time  he  met  him. 

"Did  n't  I  tell  you,"  he  used  to  say  to  the  sailors,  "that  he 
knew  how  to  write  ?  " 

No  one  made  any  answer,  and  even  Bell,  the  carpenter,  would 
have  found  it  hard  to  reply. 

Nevertheless,  it  was  plain  to  every  one,  that  if  the  captain  was 
not  on  board,  his  shade  or  spirit  was  watching  them  ;  henceforth, 
the  wisest  kept  their  opinions  to  themselves. 

At  midday  of  May  1st,  their  observation  showed  them  that  they 
were  in  latitude  68°  and  longitude  56°  32'.  The  temperature 
had  risen,  the  thermometer  standino^  at  25°  above  zero. 


The  doctor  amused  himself  with  watching  the  gambols  of  a 
she-bear  and  two  cubs  on  some  pack-ice  near  the  shore.  Ac- 
companied by  Wall  and  Simpson,  he  tried  to  chase  them  in  a 
canoe ;  but  she  was  in  a  very  peaceful  mood,  and  ran  away  with 
her  young,  so  that  the  doctor  had  to  give  up  his  attempt. 


68  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

During  the  night  a  favorable  breeze  carried  them  well  to  the 
north,  and  soon  the  lofty  mountains  of  Disco  were  peering 
above  the  horizon  ;  Godharn  Bay,  wliere  the  governor  of  the  Da- 
nish settlements  lived,  was  left  on  the  right.  Shandon  did  not 
consider  it  necessary  to  land,  and  he  soon  passed  by  the  canoes  of 
tlie  Esquimaux,  who  had  put  out  to  meet  him. 

The  island  of  Disco  is  also  called  Whale  Island  ;  it  is  from  here 
that,  on  the  12th  of  July,  1845,  Sir  John  Franklin  wrote  to  the 
Admiralty  for  the  last  time,  and  it  was  also  here  that  Captain 

MacClintock  stopped 
on  his  way  back,  bring- 
ing too  sure  proofs  of 
the  loss  of  that  expe- 
dition. 

This  coincidence  was 
not  unknown  to  the 
doctor ;  the  place  was 
one  of  sad  memories, 
but  soon  the  heights 
of  Disco  were  lost  to 
view. 

There  were  many 
icebergs  on  its  shores, 
which  no  thaws  ever  melt  away;  this  gives  the  island  a  singular 
appearance  from  the  sea. 

The  next  day,  at  about  three  o'clock,  Sanderson's  Hope  appeared 
in  the  northeast  ;  land  lay  about  fifteen  miles  to  starboard  ;  the 
mountains  appeared  of  a  dusky  red  hue.  During  the  evening 
many  fin-backs  were  seen  playing  in  the  ice,  and  occasionally 
blowing. 

It  w-as  in  the  night  of  May  3d,  that  the  doctor  for  the  first 
time  saw  the  sun  touch  the  horizon  without  setting  ;  since  Janu- 
ary 31st  its  orbit  had  been  getting  longer  every  day,  and  now 
there  was  unbroken  daylight. 

For  those  who  were  unaccustomed  to  it,  this  continuance  of 
the  day  is  a  cause  of  perpetual  surprise,  and  even  of  w-eariness ; 
it  is  difficult  to  believe  how  necessary  the  darkness  of  the  night  is 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


69 


for  the  eyes ;  the  doctor  actually  suffered  from  the  continual  bril- 
liancy, which  was  increased  by  the  reflection  from  the  ice. 

May  5th  the  Forward  passed  the  sixty-second  parallel.  Two 
months  later  they  would  have  met  numerous  whalers  in  these 
latitudes ;  but  the  straits  were  not  yet  free  enough  to  allow  easy 
ingress  into  Baffin's  Bay. 

The  next  day,  the  brig,  after  passing  Woman's  Island,  came  in 
sight  of  Upernavik,  the  northernmost  station  of  Denmark  in 
these  lands. 


CHAPTER   X 


DANGEROUS   SAILING. 

Shandox,  Dr.  Clawbonny,  Johnson,  Foker,  and  Strong,  the 
cook,  got  into  one  of  the  boats  and  made  their  way  to  shore. 

The  Governor,  his  wife  and  five  children,  all  Esquimaux,  re- 
ceived their  visitors  kindly.  The  doctor,  who  was  the  philologist 
of  the  party,  knew  enough  Danish  to  establish  friendly  relations ; 
moreover,  Foker,  the  interpreter  of  the  party  as  well  as  ice-mas- 
ter, knew  a  dozen  or  two  words  of  the  language  of  the  Green- 


70 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT  TEE  AS. 


landers,  and  with  that  number  of  words  one  can  express  a  great 
deal,  if  he  is  not  too  ambitious. 

The  Governor  was  born  on  the  island  of  Disco,  and  he  has 
never  left  the  place;  he  did  the  honors  of  his  capital,  which  con- 
sisted of  three  wooden  houses,  for  himself  and  the  Lutheran  min- 
ister, of  a  school,  and 
shops  which  were  sup- 
plied by  what  was  cast 
upon  the  shore  from 
wrecked  ships.  The 
rest  of  the  town  con- 
sisted of  snow  huts, 
into  which  the  Esqui- 
maux crawl  through  a 
single  opening. 

A  great  part  of  the 
population  came  out 
to  meet  the  Forward, 
and  more  than  one  of 
them  went  as  far  as 
the  middle  of  the  bay 
in  his  kayak,  fifteen 
feet  long  and  two 
broad    at   the    widest 


"^  - — •>.  -     v^        part. 

The  doctor  knew 
that  the  word  Esquimaux  meant  ''eater  of  raw  fish";  but  he 
knew  too  that  this  name  is  considered  an  insult  in  this  country, 
so  he  forbore  giving  it  to  the  inhabitants  of  Greenland. 

And  yet,  from  the  oily  sealskin  clothes  and  boots,  from  their 
squat,  fat  figures,  which  make  it  hard  to  distinguish  the  men 
from  the  women,  it  was  easy  to  declare  the  nature  of  their  food ; 
besides,  like  all  fish-eating  people,  they  were  somewhat  troubled 
by  leprosy,  but  their  general  health  was  not  impaired  by  it. 

The  Lutheran  minister  and  his  wife,  with  whom  the  doctor  had 
promised  himself  an  interesting  talk,  happened  to  be  away  on  the 
shore  of  Proven,  south  of  Upernavik ;  hence  he  was  compelled  to 


Fortunately  the  opening  of  these  huts  was  too  small,  and- the  enthusiastic  doctor 
could  not  get  through."  —  Page  71. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


71 


seek  the  company  of  the  Governor.  The  chief  magistrate  did  not 
appear  to  be  very  well  informed  :  a  little  less,  he  would  have  been 
a  fool ;  a  little  more,  and  he  would  have  known  how  to  read. 

In  spite  of  that,  the  doctor  questioned  him  about  the  com- 
merce, habits,  and  manners  of  the  Esquimaux ;  and  he  learned,  by 
means  of  gestures,  that  the  seals  were  worth  about  forty  pounds 
when  delivered  at  Copenhagen ;  a  bear-skin  brought  forty  Danish 
dollars,  the  skin  of  a  blue  fox  four,  and  of  a  white  fox  two  or 
three  dollars. 

In  order  to  make  his  knowledge  complete,  the  doctor  wanted 
to  visit  an  Esquimaux  hut ;  a  man  who  seeks  information  is  capa- 
ble of  enduring  anything ;  fortunately  the  opening  of  these  huts 
was  too  small,  and  the  enthusiastic  doctor  could  not  get  through. 
It  w^as  fortunate  for  him,  for  there  is  nothing  more  repulsive  than 
the  sight  of  that  crowd  of  living  and  dead  objects,  of  seal's  bodies 
and  Esquimaux-flesh,  decayed  fish  and  unclean  clothing,  w^hich 
fill  a  Greenland  hut ;  there  is  no  window  to  renew  that  suffocating 
air ;  there  is  only  a  hole  at  the  top  of  the  cabin  which  lets  the 
smoke  out,  but  gives  no  relief  to  the  stench. 

Foker  gave  all  these  details  to  the  doctor,  but  he  none  the  less 
bewailed  his  portliness.  He  wanted  to  judge  for  himself  these 
emanations  sui  generis. 


^:^l^^^^r^y^i 


"I  am  sure,"  said  he,  "that  one  could  get  used  to  it  in  time." 
In  time  shows  clearly  the  doctor's  character. 


72  THE  ADVENTURES   OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

During  these  ethnographic  studies  on  his  part,  Shandon  was 
busying  himself,  according  to  his  instructions,  with  procuring 
means  of  travel  on  the  ice ;  he  was  obliged  to  pay  four  pounds 
for  a  sledge  and  six  dogs,  and  the  natives  were  reluctant  to  sell 
even  at  this  price. 

Shandon  would  have  liked  to  engage  Hans  Christian,  the  skil- 
ful driver  of  the  dogs,  who  accompanied  Captain  MacClintock, 
but  Hans  was  then  in  Southern  Greenland. 

Then  came  up  the  great  question  of  the  day;  was  there  at 
Upernavik  a  European  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  Forioard  ?  Did 
the  Governor  know  of  any  stranger,  probably  an  Englishman,  who 
had  come  into  these  latitudes  %  How'  recently  had  they  seen  any 
whalers  or  other  ships  1 

To  these  questions  the  Governor  answered  that  no  stranger  had 
landed  on  that  part  of  the  coast  for  more  than  ten  months. 

Shandon  asked  the  names  of  the  whalers  which  had  last  ar- 
rived ;  he  recognized  none.     He  was  in  despair. 

"You  must  confess.  Doctor,  that  it  passes  all  comprehension," 
he  said  to  his  companion.  "Nothing  at  Cape  Farewell !  nothing 
at  Disco  !  nothing  at  Upernavik  !  " 

"Tell  me  in  a  few  days  from  now,  nothing  at  Melville  Bay, 
my  dear  Shandon,  and  I  will  salute  you  as  sole  captain  of  the 
Forimrtir 

The  boat  returned  to  the  brig  towards  evening,  bringing  back 
the  visitors  to  the  shore ;  Strong  had  bought  several  dozen  eider- 
duck's  eggs,  which  were  twice  as  large  as  hen's  eggs,  and  of  a 
greenish  color.  It  was  not  much,  but  it  was  very  refreshing  for 
a  crew  accustomed  to  little  but  salt  meat. 

The  next  day  the  wind  was  fair,  but  yet  Shandon  did  not  set 
sail;  he  wanted  to  wait  another  day,  and,  to  satisfy  his  con- 
science, to  give  time  for  any  member  of  the  human  race  to  rejoin 
the  Forward ;  he  even  fired  off,  every  hour,  the  ship's  gun,  which 
re-echoed  among  the  icebergs ;  but  he  only  succeeded  in  frighten- 
ing the  flocks  of  molly-mokes'^  and  rotches.^'*'  During  the  night 
many  rockets  were  set  off;  but  in  vain.  He  had  to  give  the 
order  to  set  sail. 

*  Sea-birds  common  in  these  latitudes. 


THE  IIN&LISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  "1$ 

The  8th  of  May,  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  Forward, 
under  her  topsails,  foresail,  •  and  main-top-gallant-sail,  soon  lost 
sight  of  the  station  of  Upernavik,  and  hideous  long  poles  on 
which  were  hanging  along  the  shore  the  seals'  entrails  and  deers' 
stomachs. 

The  wind  was  southeast,  the  thermometer  stood  at  32°.  The 
sun  pierced  through  the  fog  and  the  ice  melted  a  little. 

The  reflection,  however,  injured  the  sight  of  many  of  the  crew. 
Wolston,  the  armorer,  Gripper,  Clifton,  and  Bell  were  attacked  by 
snow-blindness,  which  is  very  common  in  the  spring,  and  which 
totally  blinds  many  of  the  Esquimaux.  The  doctor  advised  all,  the 
unharmed  as  well  as  the  suffering,  to  cover  their  faces  with  a  green 
veil,  and  he  was  the  first  to  follow  his  own  recommendation. 

The  dogs  bought  by  Shandon  at  Upernavik  were  rather  wild; 
but  they  soon  got  used  to  their  new  <juarters,  and  Captain  showed 
no  dislike  of  his  new  companions ;  he  seemed  to  know  their  ways. 
Clifton  was  not  the  last  to  remark  that  Captain  seemed  to  be 
familiar  with  the  dogs  of  Greenland.  And  they,  always  half 
starved  on  shore,  only  thought  of  making  up  for  it  when  at  sea. 

The  9th  of  May  the  Forivard  passed  within  a  few  cable-lengths 
of  the  westernmost  of  the  Baffin  Islands.  The  doctor  noticed 
many  rocks  between  the  islands  and  the  mainland  which  were 
what  are  called  crimson  cliffs ;  they  were  covered  with  snow  as 
red  as  carmine,  which  Dr.  Kane  says  is  of  purely  vegetable  ori- 
gin ;  Clawbonny  wanted  to  examine  this  singular  phenomenon, 
but  the  ice  forbade  their  approaching  them ;  although  the  tem- 
perature was  rising,  it  was  easy  to  see  that  the  icebergs  and  ice- 
streams  were  accumulating  toward  the  north  of  Baffin's  Bay. 

After  leaving  Upernavik  the  land  presented  a  different  appear- 
ance, and  huge  glaciers  were  sharply  defined  against  the  gray 
horizon.  On  the  10th  the  Forward  left  on  its  right  Kingston 
Bay,  near  the  seventy-fourth  degree  of  latitude ;  Lancaster  Sound 
opened  into  the  sea  many  hundred  miles  to  the  west. 

But  then  this  vast  expanse  of  water  was  hidden  beneath  enor- 
mous fields  of  ice,  in  which  arose  the  hummocks,  imiform  as 
a  homogeneous  crystallization.  Shandon  had  the  furnace-fires 
lighted,  and  until  the  11th  of  May  the  Forward  advanced  by  a 
4 


74  THE  ADVENTURES   OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

tortuous  course,  tracing  with  her  smoke  agcainst  the  sky  the  path 
she  was  following  through  the  water. 

But  new  obstacles  soon  presented  themselves;  the  passages 
were  closing  in  consequence  of  the  incessant  crowding  of  the 
floating  masses ;  every  moment  threatened  to  close  up  the  clear 
water  before  the  Forward,  and  if  she  were  nipped,  it  would  be  hard 
to  get  her  out.     Every  one  knew  it  and  was  thinking  about  it. 

Hence,  on  board  of  this  ship  without  any  definite  aim,  any 
known  destination,  which  was  blindly  pushing  on  northward, 
some  symptoms  of  hesitation  began  to  appear ;  among  these  men 
accustomed  to  dangers,  many,  forgetting  the  advantages  which 
were  promised  thera,  regretted  having  ventured  so  far.  A  certain 
demoralization  became  common,  which  was  further  increased  by 
the  fears  of  Clifton  and  the  talk  of  two  or  three  ringleaders, 
such  as  Pen,  Gripper,  Warren,  and  Wolston. 


Exhausting  fatigue  was  added  to  the  moral  disquiet  of  the 
crew,  for,  on  the  12th  of  May,  the  brig  was  caught  fast;  the 
steam  was  of  no  avail.  A  path  had  to  be  cut  through  the  ice. 
It  was  no  easy  task  to  manage  the  saws  in  the  floes  which  were 
six  or  seven  feet  thick  ;  when  two  parallel  grooves  had  divided 
the  ice  for  a  hundred  feet,  it  was  necessary  to  break  the  part  that 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  75 

lay  between  with  axes  and  bars ;  next  they  had  to  fasten  anchors 
in  a  hole  made  by  a  huge  auger  j  then  the  crew  would  turn  the 
capstan  and  haul  the  ship  along  by  the  force  of  their  arms  ;  the 
greatest  difficulty  consisted  in  driving  the  detached  pieces  be- 
neath the  floes,  so  as  to  give  space  for  the  vessel,  and  they  had  to 
be  pushed  under  by  means  of  long  iron-headed  poles. 

Moreover,  this  continued  toil  with  saws,  capstan,  and  poles,  all 
of  which  was  persistent,  compulsory,  and  dangerous,  amid  the 
dense  fog  or  snow,  while  the  air  was  so  cold,  and  their  eyes  so 
exposed,  their  doubt  so  great,  did  much  to  weaken  the  crew  of 
the  Forward  and  to  act  on  their  imagination. 

When  sailors  have  to  deal  with  a  man  who  is  energetic,  bold, 
and  determined,  w4io  knows  what  he  wants,  whither  he  is  going, 
what  aim  he  has  in  view,  confidence  animates  them  all  in  spite 
of  themselves  ;  they  are  firmly  united  to  their  leader,  strong  with 
his  force  and  calm  with  his  calmness.  But  on  board  of  the  brig 
they  were  aware  of  the  commander's  uncertainty,  they  knew  that 
he  hesitated  before  the  unknown  aim  and  destination.  In  spite 
of  the  energy  of  his  character,  his  uncertainty  was  deafly  to  be 
seen  by  his  uncertain  orders,  incomplete  manoeuvres,  his  sudden 
outbursts,  and  a  thousand  petty  details  which  could  not  escape 
the  sharp  eyes  of  the  crew. 

And  then,  Shandon  was  not  the  captain  of  the  ship,  the  master 
under  God,  which  was  enough  to  encourage  the  discussion  of  his 
orders ;  and  from  discussion  to  disobedience  is  but  a  short  step. 

The  malcontents  soon  brought  over  to  their  number  the  first 
engineer,  who,  hitherto,  had  been  a  slave  to  his  duty. 

The  16th  of  May,  six  days  after  the  Forward  had  reached  the 
ice,  Shandon  had  not  made  two  miles  to  northward.  They  were 
threatened  with  being  detained  in  the  ice  until  the  next  season. 
Matters  had  a  serious  look. 

Towards  eight  o'clock  of  the  evening,  Shandon  and  the  doctor, 
accompanied  by  Garry,  w^ent  out  to  reconnoitre  the  vast  plains ; 
they  took  care  not  to  go  too  far  from  the  ship,  for  it  was  hard 
to  find  any  fixed  points  in  this  white  solitude,  which  was  ever 
changing  in  appearance.  Refraction  kept  producing  strange 
effects,  much  to  the  doctor's  astonishment;  at  one  place,  where 


76 


THE  ADVENTURES  6^  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


he  thought  he  had  but  an  easy  jump  before  him,  he  had  to  leap 
some  five  or  six  feet ;  or  else  the  contrary  happened,  and  in  either 
case  the  result  was  a  tumble,  which  if  not  dangerous  was  at  any 
rate  painful,  for  the  ice  was  as  hard  and  slippery  as  glass. 

Shandon  and  his  two  companions  went  out  to  seek  a  possible 
passage;  three  miles  from  the  ship,  they  succeeded  with  some 
difficulty  in  ascending  an  iceberg  about  three  hundred  feet  high. 
From  tha^  point  nothing  met  their  eyes  but  a  confused  mass,  like 
the  ruins  of  a  vast  city,  with  shattered  monuments,  overthrown 
towers,  and  prostrate  palaces,  —  a  real  chaos.  The  sun  was  just 
peering  above  the  jagged  horizon,  and  sent  forth  long,  oblique 
rays  of  light,  but  not  of  heat,  as  if  something  impassable  for  heat 
lay  between  it  and  this  wild  country. 


The  sea  appeared  perfectly  covered  as  far  as  eye  could 
reach. 

"How  shall  we  get  through  1"  asked  the  doctor. 

"  I  don't  know,"  answered  Shandon  ;  "  but  we  shall  get  through, 
if  we  have  to  blow  our  way  through  with  powder.  I  certainly 
sha'  n't  stay  in  the  ice  till  next  spring." 

"  But  that  happened  to  the  Fox,  and  not  far  from  here.  Bah  ! " 
said  the  doctor  ;  "  we  shall  get  through  with  a  little  philosophy. 
You  will  see  that  is  worth  all  the  machinery  in  the  world." 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  'J'J 

"  I  must  say,"  answered  Shandon,  "  this  year  does  not  begin 
very  well." 

"  True,  Shandon,  and  I  notice  also  that  Baffin's  Bay  seems  to 
be  returning  to  the  state  it  was  in  before  1817." 

"  Don't  you  think.  Doctor,  it  has  always  been  as  it  is  now  ] " 

"  No,  my  dear  Shandon,  from  time  to  time  there  have  been 
great  breakings  of  the  ice  which  no  one  can  explain  ;  so,  up  to 
1817  this  sea  was  continually  full,  when  an  enormous  sort  of 
inundation  took  place,  which  cast  the  icebergs  into  the  ocean, 
most  of  which  reached  the  banks  of  Newfoundland.  From  that 
day  Baffin's  Bay  was  nearly  free,  and  was  visited  by  whalers." 

''  So,"  asked  Shandon,  "  from  that  time  voyages  to  the  North 
became  easier  ] " 

"  Incomparably ;  but  for  some  years  it  has  been  noticed  that 
the  bay  seems  to  be  resuming  its  old  ways  and  threatens  to  be- 
come closed,  possibly  for  a  long  time,  to  sailors.  An  additional 
reason,  by  the  way,  for  pushing  on  as  far  as  possible.  And  yet  it 
must  be  said,  we  look  like  people  who  are  pushing  on  in  unknown 
ways,  with  the  doors  forever  closing  behind  us." 

"  Would  you  advise  me  to  go  back  1 "  asked  Shandon,  trying  to 
read  into  the  depths  of  the  doctor's  eyes. 

"  I !  I  have  never  retreated  yet,  and,  even  if  we  should  never 
get  back,  I  say  go  on.  Still,  I  want  to  make  it  clear  that  if  we 
act  imprudently,  we  do  it  with  our  eyes  open." 

"  And  you,  Garry,  what  do  you  think  about  it  1 "  asked  Shan- 
don of  the  sailor. 

"  I,  Commander,  should  go  straight  on ;  I  agree  with  Dr. 
Clawbonny ;  but  do  as  you  please ;  command,  we  shall  obey." 

"  They  don't  all  talk  as  you  do,  Garry,"  resumed  Shandon  ; 
"  they  are  not  all  ready  to  obey.  And  if  they  refuse  to  obey  my 
orders  \ " 

"  I  have  given  you  my  opinion,  Commander,"  answered  Garry, 
coldly,  "because  you.  asked  for  it;  but  you  are  not  obliged  to 
follow  it." 

Shandon  did  not  answer ;  he  scanned  the  horizon  closely,  and 
then  descended  with  his  companions  to  the  ice-fields. 


78  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

THE    devil's    thumb. 

During  the  commander's  absence  the  men  .had  been  variously 
busied  in  attempts  to  relieve  the  ship  from  the  pressure  of  the 
ice.  Pen,  Clifton,  Bolton,  Gripper,  and  Simpson  had  this  in 
charge ;  the  fireman  and  the  two  engineers  came  to  the  aid  of  their 
comrades,  for,  as  soon  as  the  engines  did  not  require  their  atten- 
tion, they  became  sailors,  and  as  such  could  be  employed  in  all 
that  was  going  on  aboard  the  ship. 

But  there  was  a  great  deal  of  discontent  among  them. 

"  I  declare  I  've  had  enough,"  said  Pen ;  ''  and  if  we  are  not 
free  in  three  days,  I  swear  I  sha'  n't  stir  a  finger  to  get  the  ship 
out." 

"  Not  stir  a  finger  !  "  answered  Plover ;  "  you  'd  better  use  them 
in  getting  back.  Do  you  think  we  want  to  stay  here  till  next 
year  1 " 

"  It  certainly  would  be  a  hard  winter,"  said  Pen,  "  for  we  are 
exposed  on  all  sides." 

"And  who  knows,"  said  Brunton,  "whether  next  spring  the 
sea  will  be  any  freer  than  it  is  now  % " 

"  Never  mind  about  next  spring,"  answered  Pen ;  "  to-day  is 
Thursday ;  if  the  w\ay  is  not  clear  Sunday  morning,  we  shall  turn 
back  to  the  south." 

"  Good  !  "  cried  Clifton. 

"  Don't  you  agree  with  me  1 "  asked  Pen. 

"  We  do,"  cried  his  companions. 

"  That 's  so,"  said  Warren  ;  "  for  if  we  have  to  work  in  this 
way  and  haul  the  ship  along  with  our  own  arms,  I  think  it  would 
be  as  well  to  haul  her  backwards." 

"  We  shall  do  that  on  Sunday,"  said  Wolston. 

"  Only  give  me  the  order,"  resumed  Brunton,  "  and  my  fires 
shall  be  lighted." 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  79 

"  Well,"  remarked  Clifton,  ''  we  shall  light  them  ourselves." 

"  If  any  officer,"  said  Pen,  "  is  anxious  to  spend  the  winter 
here,  he  can  ;  we  can  leave  him  here  contentedly  ;  he  '11  find  it 
easy  to  build  a  hut  like  the  Esquimaux." 

"  Not  at  all,  Pen,"  retorted  Brunton,  quickly ;  "  we  sha'  n't 
abandon  any  one  here ;  do  you  understand  that,  all  of  you  ?  I 
think  it  won't  be  hard  to  persuade  the  commander;  he  seems  to 
me  to  be  very  much  discouraged,  and  if  we  propose  it  to  him 
gently  —  " 

"  But,"  interrupted  Plover,  "  Richard  Shandon  is  often  very 
obstinate  ;  we  shall  have  to  sound  him  cautiously." 

"  When  I  think,"  said  Bolton,  with  a  sigh  of  longing,  "  that  in 
a  month  we  might  be  back  in  Liverpool !  We  can  easily  pass 
the  line  of  ice  at  the  south  !  Davis  Strait  will  be  open  by  the 
beginning  of  June,  and  then  we  shall  have  nothing  but  the  free 
Atlantic  before  us." 

"  Besides,"  said  the  cautious  Clifton,  "if  we  take  the  com- 
mander back  with* us,  and  act  under  his  commands,  we  shall  have 
earned  our  pay ;  but  if  we  go  back  without  him,  it 's  not  so 
sure." 

"  True,"  said  Plover ;  "  Clifton  talks  sense.  Let 's  try  not  to 
get  into  any  trouble  with  the  Admiralty,  that 's  safer,  and  don't 
let  us  leave  any  one  behind." 

"  But  if  they  refuse  to  come  with  us  ] "  continued  Pen,  who 
wished  to  compel  his  companions  to  stand  by  him. 

They  found  it  hard  to  answer  the  question  thus  squarely  put 
them. 

"  We  shall  see  about  that  when  the  time  comes,"  replied  Bol- 
ton ;  *'  it  will  be  enough  to  bring  Richard  Shandon  over  to  our 
side,  and  I  fancy  that  won't  be  hard." 

"  There  's  one  I  shall  leave  here,"  exclaimed  Pen  with  fierce 
oaths,  "even  if  he  should  bite  my  arm  off." 

"  0,  the  dog  !  "  said  Plover. 

"  Yes,  that  dog  !     I  shall  soon  settle  accounts  with  him." 

"  So  much  the  better,"  retorted  Clifton,  returning  to  his  favor- 
ite theory  ;  "  he  is  the  cause  of  all  our  troubles." 

"  He  has  thrown  an  evil  spell  upon  us,"  said  Plover. 


80  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"  He  led  us  into  the  ice,"  remarked  Gripper. 

"  He  brought  more  ice  in  our  way,"  said  Wolston,  "  than  was 
ever  seen  at  this  season." 

"  He  made  my  eyes  sore,"  said  Brunton. 

"  He  shut  off  the  gin  and  brandy,"  cried  Pen. 

",He  's  the  cause  of  everything,"  they  all  exclaimed  excitedly. 

"  And  then,"  added  Clifton,  "  he  's  the  captain." 

"  Well,  you  unlucky  Captain,"  cried  Pen,  whose  unreasonable 
fury  grew  with  the  sound  of  his  own  words,  "  you  wanted  to  come 
here,  and  here  you  shall  stay  ! " 

"  But  how  shall  we  get  hold  of  him  % "  said  Plover. 

"  Well,  now  is  a  good  time,"  answered  Clifton.  "  The  com- 
mander is  away  ;  the  second  mate  is  asleep  in  his  cabin  ;  the  fog 
is  so  thick  that  Johnson  can't  see  us  —  " 

"  But  the  dog  1 "  said  Pen. 

"  He  's  asleep  in  the  coal,"  answered  Clifton,  "and  if  any  one 
w^ants  —  " 

"  I  '11  see  to  it,"  replied  Pen,  angrily. 

"  Take  care,  Pen  ;  his  teeth  would  go  through  a  bar  of  iron." 

"  If  he  stirs,  I  '11  rip  him  open,"  answered  Pen,  drawing  his 
knife.  .  ' 

And  he,  ran  down  between  decks,  followed  by  Warren,  who  was 
anxious  to  help  him. 

Soon  they  both  returned,  carrying  the  dog  in  their  arms ;  his 
mouth  and  paws  were  securely  tied ;  they  had  caught  him  asleep, 
and  the  poor  dog  could  not  escape  them. 

"  Hurrah  for  Pen  !  "  cried  Plover. 

"  And  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  him  now  ? "  asked 
Clifton. 

"  Drown  him,  and  if  he  ever  comes  back  —  "  answered  Pen 
with  a  smile  of  satisfaction. 

Two  hundred  feet,  from  the  vessel  there  was  a  hole  in  the  ice, 
a  sort  of  circular  crevasse,  made  by  the  seals  with  their  teeth, 
and  always  dug  out  from  the  inside  to  the  outside  ;  it  was  there 
that  the  seals  used  to  come  to  breathe  on  the  surface  of  the  ice  ; 
but  they  were  compelled  to  take  care  to  prevent  the  aperture 
from  closing,  for  the  shape  of  their  jaws  did  not  permit  them  to 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE. 


81 


make  the  hole  from  the  outside,  and  in  any  danger  they  would; 
not  be  able  to  escape  from  their  enemies. 


Pen  and  Warren  hastened  to  this  crevasse,  and  then,  in  spite 
of  his  obstinate  struggles,  the  dog  was  pitilessly  cast  into  the 
sea ;  a  huge  cake  of  ice  they  then  rolled  over  the  aperture,  clos- 
ing all  means  of  escape  for  the  poor  dog,  thus  locked  in  a  watery 
prison. 

"A  pleasant  journey.  Captain!  "  cried  the  brutal  sailor. 

Soon  they  returned  on  board ;  Johnson  had  seen  nothing  of  it 
all ;  the  fog  was  growing  thick  about  the  ship,  and  the  snow  was 
beginning  to  fall  with  violence. 

An  hour  later,  Richard  Shandon,  the  doctor,  and  Garry  re- 
gained the  Forward. 

Shandon  had  observed  in  the  northeast  a  passage,  which  he 
determined  to  try.  He  gave  his  orders  to  that  effect ;  the  crew 
obeyed  with  a  certain  activity ;  they  wanted  to  convince  Shandon 
of  the  impossibility  of  a  farther  advance,  and  besides,  they  had 
before  them  three  days  of  obedience. 

During  a  part  of  the  following  night  and  day  the  saw- 
ing and  towing  went  on  busily  ;  the  Forward  made  about 
two  miles  of  progress.     On  the  18th  they  were  in  sight  of  land, 


82 


THE  ADVENTUEES  OF  CAPTAIN  EAT T ERAS. 


five  or  six  cable-lengths  from  a  strange  peak,  to  which  its  singular 
sha23e  had  given  the  name  of  the  Devil's  Thumb. 


At  this  very  place  the  Prince  Albert,  in  1851,  the  Advance, 
with  Kane,  in  1853,  had  been  caught  in  the  ice  for  many  weeks. 

The  odd  shape  of  the  Devil's  Thumb,  the  barren  and  desolate 
surroundings,  which  consisted  of  huge  icebergs  often  more  than 
three  hundred  feet  high,  the  cracking  of  the  ice,  repeated  in- 
definitely by  the  echo,  made  the  position  of  the  Forward  a  very 
gloomy  one.  Shandon  saw  that  it  was  necessary  to  get  away 
from  there;  within  twenty-four  hours,  he  calculated  he  w^ould 
be  able  to  get  two  miles  from  the  spot.  But  that  was  not  enough. 
Shandon  felt  himself  embarrassed  by  fear,  and  the  false  position 
in  which  he  was  placed  benumbed  his  energy  ;  to  obey  his  in- 
structions in  order  to  advance,  he  had  brought  his  ship  into  a 
dangerous  position ;  the  towii^  wore  out  his  men  ;  more  than 
three  hours  were  necessary  to  cut  a  canal  twenty  feet  in  length 
through  ice  which  was  generally  four  or  five  feet  thick  ;  the  health 
of  the  crew  gave  signs  of  foiling.  Shandon  was  astonished  at  the 
silence  of  the  men,  and  their  unaccustomed  obedience  ;  but  he 
feared  it  was  only  the  calm  that  foreboded  a  storm. 

We  can,  then,  easily  judge  of  the  painful  surprise,  disappoint- 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  83 

ment,  and  even  despair  which  seized  upon  him,  when  he  noticed 
that  by  means  of  an  imperceptible  movement  in  the  ice,  the  For- 
ward lost  in  the  night  of  the  18th  all  that  had  been  gained  by 
such  toilsome  efforts ;  on  Saturday  morning  he  was  opposite  the 
Devil's  Thumb,  in  a  still  more  critical  position ;  the  icebergs  in- 
creased in  number  and  passed  by  in  the  mist  like  phantoms. 

Shandon  was  thoroughly  demoralized ;  it  must  be  said  that  fear 
seized  both  this  bold  man  and  all  his  crew.  Shandon  had  heard 
of  the  disappearance  of  the  dog ;  but  he  did  not  dare  to  punish 
the  guilty  persons ;  he  feared  exciting  a  mutiny. 

The  weather  during  that  day  was  horrible ;  the  snow,  caught 
up  in  dense  whirls,  covered  the  brig  with  an  impenetrable  veil ; 
at  times,  under  the  influence  of  the  hurricane,  the  fog  would  rise, 
and  their  terror-stricken  eyes  beheld  the  Devil's  Thumb  rising  on 
the  shore  like  a  spectre. 

The  Forward  was  anchored  to  a  large  piece  of  ice ;  there  was 
nothing  to  be  done,  nothing  to  be  tried  ;  darkness  was  spreading 
about  them,  and  the  man  at  the  helm  could  not  see  James  Wall, 
who  was  on  watch  forward. 

Shandon  withdrew  to  his  cabin,  a  prey  to  perpetual  disquiet ; ' 
the  doctor  was  arranging  his  notes  of  the  expedition  ;  some  of  the 
crew  were  on  the  deck,  others  in  the  common  room. 

At  a  moment  when  the  violence  of  the  storm  was  redoubling, 
the  Devil's  Thumb  seemed  to  rise  immoderately  from  the  mist. 

*'  Great  God  ! "  exclaimed  Simpson,  recoiling  with  terror. 

"  What 's  the  matter  % "  asked  Foker. 

Soon  shouts  were  heard  on  all  sides. 

"  It 's  going  to  crush  us  !  " 

"  We  are  lost ! " 

"  Mr.  Wall,  Mr.  Wall ! " 

"  It 's  all  over  !  " 

"  Commander,  Commander  !  " 

All  these  cries  were  uttered  by  the  men  on  watch. 

Wall  hastened  to  the  after-deck;  Shandon,  followed  by  the 
doctor,  flew  to  the  deck  and  looked  out. 

Through  a  rift  in  the  mist,  the  Devil's  Thumb  appeared  to 
have  suddenly  come  near  the  brig ;  it  seemed  to  have  grown  enor- 


84 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


mously  in  size ;    on  its  summit  was  balanced  a  second  cone,  up- 
side down,  and  revolving  on  its  point ;  it  threatened  to  crush  the 

ship  with  its  enormous 
mass ;  it  wavered, 
ready  to  fall  down.  It 
was  an  alarming  sight. 
Elvery  one  drew  back  in- 
stinctively, and  many 
of  the  men,  jumping 
upon  the  ice,  aban- 
doned the  ship. 

"  Let  no  one  move ! " 
cried  the  commander 
with  a  loud  voice ; 
"every  one  to  his 
place  ! " 

"  My  friends,  don't 
be  frightened,"  said 
the  doctor,  "there  is 
no  danger  !  See,  Com- 
mander, see,  Mr.  Wall, 
that 's  the  mirage  and 
nothing  else." 

"You  are  right.  Dr. 
Clawbonny,"  i*eplied  Johnson ;  "  they  've  all  been  frightened  by  a 
shadow." 

When  they  had  heard  what  the  doctor  said,  most  of  the  sailors 
drew  near  him,  and  from  terror  they  turned  to  admiration  of  this 
wonderful  phenomenon,  which  soon  passed  from  their  view. 

"  They  call  that  a  mirage,"  said  Clifton ;  "  the  Devil  's  at  the 
bottom  of  it,  I  'm  sure." 

"  That 's  true,"  growled  Gripper. 

But  the  break  in  the  fog  had  given  the  commander  a  glimpse 
of  a  broad  passage  which  he  had  not  expected  to  find ;  it  prom- 
ised to  lead  him  away  from  the  shore ;  he  resolved  to  make  use 
of  it  at  once  ;  men  were  sent  out  on  each  side  of  the  canal ;  haw- 
sers were  given  them,  and  they  began  to  tow  the  ship  northward. 


"  A  sirauge  animal  was  bounding  along  within  a  cable's  length  from  the  ship. 
-  Page  85. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  85 

During  long  hours  this  work  was  prosecuted  busily  but  silent- 
ly; Shandon  had  the  furnace-fires  lighted  to  help  him  through 
this  passage  so  providentially  discovered. 

"That 's  great  luck,"  he  said  to  Johnson,  "and  if  we  can  only 
get  on  a  few  miles,  we  may  be  free.  Make  a  hot  fire,  Mr.  Brun- 
ton,  and  let  me  know  as  soon  as  you  get  steam  on.  Mean- 
while, men,  the  farther  on  we  get,  the  more  gained  !  You  want 
to  get  away  from  the  Devil's  Thumb  ;  well,  now  is  your  chance  !  " 

Suddenly  the  brig  stopped.  ,  "  What 's  the  matter  ? "  shouted 
Shandon.     "  Wall,  have  the  tow-ropes  broken  1 " 

"  No,"  answered  Wall,  leaning  over  the  ratling.  "  See,  there 
are  the  men  running  back ;  they  are  climbing  on  board  ;  they 
seem  very  much  frightened." 

"  What 's  happened  1 "  cried  Shandon,  running  forward. 

"On  board,  on  board  !"  cried  the  sailors,  evidently  exceedingly 
terrified. 

Shandon  looked  towards  the  north,  and  shuddered  in  spite  of 
himself. 

A  strange  animal,  w^ith  alarming  motions,  whose  steaming 
tongue  hung  from  huge  jaws,  was  bounding  along  within  a  cable's 
length  from  the  ship ;  it  seemed  more  than  twenty  feet  high ;  its 
hair  stood  on  end ;  it  was  chasing  the  sailors  as  if  about  to  seize 
them,  while  its  tail,  which  was  at  least  ten  feet  long,  lashed  the 
snow  and  tossed  it  about  in  dense  gusts.  The  sight  of  the  mon- 
ster froze  the  blood  in  the  veins  of  the  boldest. 

"  It 's  an  enormous  bear,"  said  one. 

"  It 's  the  beast  of  G^vaudan  !  " 

"  It 's  the  lion  of  the  Apocalypse  !  " 

Shandon  ran  to  his  cabin  to  get  a  gun  which  he  kept  always 
loaded ;  the  doctor  seized  his  arms,  and  made  ready  to  fire  at  the 
beast,  which   by  its  size,  recalled  antediluvian  monsters. 

It  drew  near  with  long  leaps ;  Shandon  and  the  doctor  fired  at 
the  same  time,  and  suddenly  the  report  of  the  pieces  agitated 
the  air  and  produced  an  unlooked-for  effect. 

The  doctor  gazed  attentively,  and  could  not  help  bursting  out 
laughing.     "  It 's  refraction  !  "  said  he. 

"  Kefraction  ! "  cried  Shandon. 


86  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

But  a  terrible  cry  from  the  crew  interrupted  them. 

"  The  dog !  "  shouted  Clifton. 

"  The  dog-captain  ! "  repeated  his  companions. 

"  It 's  he  !  "  cried  Pen. 

In  fact,  it  was  the  dog  who  had  burst  his  bonds  and  had  made 
his  way  to  the  surface  of  the  ice  through  another  hole.  At  that 
moment  the  refraction,  by  a  phenomenon  common  in  these  lati- 
tudes, exaggerated  his  size,  and  this  had  only  been  broken  by  the 
report  of  the  guns ;  but,  notwithstanding,  a  disastrous  impression 
had  been  produced  upon  the  minds  of  the  sailors,  who  were  not 
very  much  inclined  to  admit  any  explanation  of  the  feet  from 
physical  causes.  The  adventure  of  the  Devil's  Thumb,  the  reap- 
pearance of  the  dog  under  such  peculiar  circumstances,  completely 
upset  them,  and  murmurs  arose  on  all  sides.  * 


CHAPTER    XII. 

CAPTAIN    HATTERAS. 

The  Forward  was  advancing  rapidly  under  steam  between  the 
ice-fields  and  the  mountains  of  ice.  Johnson  was  at  the  helm. 
Shandon  was  examining  the  horizon  with  his  snow-spectalces ; 
but  his  joy  was  brief,  for  he  soon  saw  that  the  passage  was 
blocked  up  by  a  circle  of  mountains. 

I^evertheless,  he  preferred  to  take  his  chances  with  pushing  on, 
to  returning. 

The  dog  followed  the  brig  on  the  ice,  but  he  kept  at  a  respect- 
ful distance.  Only,  if  he  lagged  too  far,  there  was  to  be  heard  a 
singular  whistle  which  at  once  brought  him  on. 

The  first  time  that  this  whistle  was  heard,  the  sailors  looked 
around  ;  they  were  alone  on  the  deck,  talking  together ;  there  was 
no  unknown  person  there  ;  and  yet  this  whistle  was  often  repeated. 

Clifton  w^as  the  first  to  take  alarm. 

"  Do  you  hear  that  1 "  he  said  ;  "  and  do  you  see  how  the  dog 
starts  as  soon  as  he  hears  it  1 " 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


87 


"  It 's  past  belief,"  said  Gripper. 

*'  Very  well !  "  cried  Pen ;  "  I  'm  not  going  any  farther." 
"  Pen  is  right,"  said  Brunton  ;  "  it 's  tempting  Providence." 
''  Tempting  the  Devil,"  answered  Clifton.      "  I  should  rather 
give  up  all  my  share  of  the  pay  than  go  on." 
"  We  shall  never  get  back,"  said  Bolton,  dejectedly. 
The  crew  was  exceedingly  demoralized. 

''  Not  a  foot  farther  ! "  cried  Wolston ;  "  is  that  your  opinion '? " 
"  Yes,  yes  !  "  answered  the  sailors. 


"Well,"  said  Bolton,  "let's  go  find  the  commander;  I'll  un- 
dertake to  tell  him." 

The  sailors  in  a  dense  group  made  their  way  to  the  quarter- 
deck. 

The  Forward  was  then  advancing  into  a  large  arena,  which  had 
a  diameter  of  about  eight  hundred  feet ;  it  was  completely  closed, 
with  the  exception  of  one  place  through  which  the  ship  entered. 

Shandon  saw  that  he  was  locking  himself  in.  But  what  was 
to  be  done  1  How  could  he  retreat  1  He  felt  all  the  responsibility, 
and  his  hand  nervously  grasped  his  glass. 

The  doctor  looked  on  in  silence,  with  folded  anus ;  he  gazed  at 
the  walls  of  ice,  the  average  height  of  which  was  about  three 
hundred' feet.     A  cloud  of  fog  lay  like  a  dome  above  the  gulf. 


88  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

Then  it  was  that  Bolton  spoke  to  the  commander. 

"  Commander."  said  he  in  a  broken  voice,  "  we  can't  go  any 
farther." 

"  What 's  that  you  are  saying  % "  said  Shandon,  who  felt  en- 
raged at  the  shght  given  to  his  authority. 

"  We  have  come  to  say,  Commander,"  resumed  Bolton,  "  that 
we  have  done  enough  for  this  invisible  captain,  and  that  we  have 
made  up  our  minds  not  to  go  on  any  farther." 

''  Made  up  your  minds  % "  cried  Shandon.  "  Is  that  the  way 
you  talk  to  me,  Bolton  1     Take  care." 

"  You  need  not  threaten,"  retorted  Pen,  brutally,  "  we  are  not 
going  any  farther." 

Shandon  stepped  towards  the  mutinous  sailors,  when  the  boat- 
swain said  to  him  in  a  low  voice,  — 

"  Commander,  if  we  want  to  get  out  of  this  place,  we  have  not 
a  moment  to  lose.  There  's  an  iceberg  crowding  towards  the 
entrance ;  it  may  prevent  our  getting  out  and  imprison  us  here." 

Shandon  returned  to  look  at  the  state  of  affairs. 

"  You  will  account  for  this  afterwards,"  he  said  to  the  mutineers. 
"  Now,  go  about  !  " 

The  sailors  hastened  to  their  places.  The  Fortvard  went  about 
rapidly ;  coal  was  heajDed  on  the  fires ;  it  was  necessary  to  beat 
the  iceberg.  There  was  a  race  between  them ;  the  brig  stood 
towards  the  south,  the  berg  was  drifting  northward,  threatening 
to  bar  the  way. 

"  Put  on  all  the  steam,  Brunton,  do  you  hear  1 "  said  Shandon. 

The  Forward  glided  like  a  bird  through  the  broken  ice,  which 
her  prow  cut  through  easily  ;  the  ship  shook  with  the  motion  of 
the  screw,  and  the  gauge  indicated  a  full  pressure  of  steam,  the 
deafening  roar  of  which  resounded  above  everything. 

"  Load  the  safety-valve  ! "  cried  Shandon. 

The  engineer  obeyed  at  the  risk  of  bursting  the  boilers. 

But  these  desperate  efforts  were  vain ;  the  iceberg,  driven  by  a 
submarine  current,  moved  rapidly  towards  the  exit ;  the  brig  was 
still  three  cable-lengths  distant,  when  the  moimtain,  entering  the 
vacant  space  like  a  wedge,  joined  itself  to  its  companions,  and 
closed  the  means  of  escape. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE. 


89 


"  We  are  lost !  "  cried  Shandon,  who  was  unable  to  restrain 
that  unwise  speech. 

"  Lost  !  "  repeated  the  crew. 

"  Lower  the  boats  !  "  cried  many. 

"  To  the  steward's  pantry  ! "  cried  Pen  and  some  of  his  set ; 
"  if  we  must  drown,  let  us  drown  in  gin  !  " 

The  wildest  confusion  raged  among  these  half-wild  men.  Shan- 
don felt  unable  to  assert  his  authority ;  he  wanted  to  give  some 
orders ;  he  hesitated,  he  stammered ;  his  thoughts  could  find  no 
words.  The  doctor  walked  up  and  down  nervously.  Johnson 
folded  his  arms  stoically,  and  said  not  a  word. 

Suddenly  a  strong,  energetic,  commanding  voice  was  heard 
above  the  din,  uttering  these  words  :  — 

*'  Every  man  to  his  place  !     Prepare  to  go  about !  " 


Johnson  shuddered,  and,  without  knowing  w^hat  he  did,  turned 
the  wheel  rapidly. 

It  was  time  ;  the  brig,  going  under  full  steam,  was  about  crash- 
ing against  the  walls  of  its  prison. 

But  while  Johnson  instinctively  obeyed,  Shandon,  Clawbonny, 
the  crew,  all,  even  down  to  Warren  the  fireman,  w^ho  had  aban- 
doned his  fires,  and   Strong  the  cook,  who  had  fled  from  his 


90  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTEHAS. 

galley,  were  collected  on  the  deck,  and  all  saw  issuing  from  the 
cabin,  the  key  of  which  he  alone  possessed,  a  man. 

This  man  was  the  sailor  Garry. 

"  Sir  !  "  cried  Shandon,  turning  pale,  "  Garry  —  by  what  right 
do  you  give  orders  here  1 " 

"  Duke  ! "  said  Garry,  repeating  the  whistle  which  had  so  sur- 
prised the  crew. 

The  dog,  on  hearing  his  real  name,  sprang  on  the  quarter-deck, 
and  lay  down  quietly  at  his  master's  feet. 

The  crew  did  not  utter  a  word.  The  key  which  the  captain 
alone  should  possess,  the  dog  which  he  had  sent  .and  which  had 
identified  him,  so  to  speak,  the  tone  of  command  which  it  was 
impossible  to  mistake,  —  all  this  had  a  strong  influence  on  the 
minds  of  the  sailors,  and  was  enough  to  establish  firmly  Garry's 
authority. 

Besides,  Garry  was  hardly  to  be  recognized ;  he  had  removed 
the  thick  whiskers  which  had  surrounded  his  face,  thereby  giving 
it  a  more  impassible,  energetic,  and  commanding  expression  ;  he 
stood  before  them  clothed  in  a  captain's  uniform,  which  he  had 
had  placed  in  his  cabin. 

So  the  crew  of  the  Forward,  animated  in  spite  of  themselves, 
shouted,  — 

"  Hurrah,  hurrah,  hurrah  for  the  captain  !  " 

"  Shandon,"  he  said  to  his  first  officer,  "  have  the  crew  put  in 
line  ;  I  want  to  inspect  them." 

Shandon  obeyed,  and  gave  the  requisite  orders  with  an  agitated 
voice. 

The  captain  walked  in  front  of  the  officers  and  men,  saying  a 
word  to  each,  and  treating  him  according  to  his  past  conduct. 

When  he  had  finished  his  inspection,  he  went  back  to  the  quar- 
ter-deck, and  calmly  uttered  these  words  :  — 

"  Officers  and  sailors,  I  am  an  Englishman  like  j^ou  all,  and  my 
motto  is  that  of  Lord  Nelson,  —  '  England  expects  every  man  to 
do  his  duty.' 

"  As  Englishmen,  I  am  unwilling,  we  are  imwilling,  that  others 
should  go  where  we  have  not  been.  As  Englishmen,  I  shall  not 
endure,  we  shall  not  endure,  that  others  should  have  the  glory  of 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  91 

going  farther  north  than  we.  If  human  foot  is  ever  to  reach  the 
Pole,  it  must  be  the  foot  of  an  EngHshman  !  Here  is  the  flag  of 
our  country.  I  have  equipped  this  ship,  I  have  devoted  my  for- 
tune to  this  undertaking,  I  shall  devote  to  it  my  life  and  yours, 
but  this  flag  shall  float  over  the  North  Pole.  Fear  not.  You 
shall  receive  a  thousand  pounds  sterling  for  every  degree  that  we 
get  farther  north  after  this  day.  Now  we  are  at  the  seventy- 
second,  and  there  are  ninety  in  all.  Figure  it  out.  My  name 
will  be  proof  enough.  It  means  energy  and  patriotism.  I  am 
Captain  Hatteras." 

"  Captain  Hatteras  ! "  cried  Shandon.  And  this  name,  familiar 
to  them  all,  soon  spread  among  all  the  crew. 

"  Now,"  resumed  Hatteras,  "  let  us  anchor  the  brig  to  the  ice  ; 
let  the  fires  be  put  out,  and  every  one  return  to  his  usual  occupa- 
tion. Shandon,  I  want  to  speak  with  you  about  the  ship.  You 
will  join  me  in  my  cabin  with  the  doctor,  Wall,  and  the  boat- 
swain.    Johnson,  dismiss  the  men." 

Hatteras,  calm  and  cold,  quietly  left  the  poop-deck,  while  Shan- 
don had  the  brig  made  fast  to  the  ice. 

Who  was  this  Hatteras,  and  why  did  his  name  make  so  deep 
an  impression  upon  the  crew  1 

John  Hatteras,  the  only  son  of  a  London  brewer,  who  died  in 
1852,  worth  six  million  pounds,  took  to  the  sea  at  an  early  age, 
unmindful  of  the  large  fortune  which  was  to  come  to  him.  Not 
that  he  had  any  commercial  designs,  but  a  longing  for  geogi\aphi- 
cal  discovery  possessed  him ;  he  was  continually  dreaming  of  set- 
ting foot  on  some  spot  untrodden  of  man. 

When  twenty  years  old,  he  had  the  vigorous  constitution  of 
thin,  sanguine  men ;  an  energetic  face,  with  well-marked  lines,  a 
high  forehead,  rising  straight  from  the  eyes,  which  were  hand- 
some but  cold,  thin  lips,  indicating  a  mouth  chary  of  words,  me- 
dium height,  well-knit  muscular  limbs,  indicated  a  man  ready  fur 
any  experience.  Any  one  who  saw  him  would  have  called  him 
bold,  and  any  one  who  heard  him  would  have  called  him  coldly 
passionate ;  he  was  a  man  who  would  never  retreat,  and  who 
would  risk  the  lives  of  others  as  coldly  as  his  own.  One  would 
hence  think  twice  before  following  hijn  in  his  expeditions. 


92  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  H ATT  ERAS. 

John  Hatteras  had  a  great  deal  of  EngUsh  pride,  and  it  was  he 
who  once  made  this  haughty  reply  to  a  Frenchman. 

The  Frenchman  said  with  what  he  considered  politeness,  and 
even  kindness, — 

**  If  I  were  not  a  Frenchman,  I  should  like  to  be  an  English- 
man." 

"  If  I  were  not  an  Englishman,  I  should  like  to  be  an  English- 
man ! " 

That  retort  points  the  nature  of  the  man. 

He  would  have  liked  to  reserve  for  his  fellow-countrymen  the 
monopoly  of  geographical  discovery ;  but  much  to  his  chagrin, 
during  previous  centuries,  they  had  done  but  little  in  the  way  of 
discovery. 

America  was  discovered  by  the  Genoese,  Christopher  Columbus ; 
the  East  Indies  by  the  Portuguese,  Vasco  de  Gama ;  China  by  the 
Portuguese,  Fernao  d'Andrada ;  Terra  del  Fuego  by  the  Portu- 
guese, Magellan ;  Canada  by  the  Frenchman,  Jacques  Cartier ;  the 
islands  of  Sumatra,  Java,  etc.,  Labrador,  Brazil,  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  the  Azores,  Madeira,  Newfoundland,  Guinea,  Congo,  Mexico, 
White  Cape,  Greenland,  Iceland,  the  South  Pacific  Ocean,  Cali- 
fornia, Japan,  Cambodia,  Peru,  Kamschatka,  the  Philippine 
Islands,  Spitzbergen,  Cape  Horn,  Behring  Strait,  New  Zealand, 
Van  Diemen's  Land,  New  Britain,  New  Holland,  the  Louisiana, 
Island  of  Jan-Mayen,  by  Icelanders,  Scandinavians,  Frenchmen, 
Russians,  Portuguese,  Danes,  Spaniards,  Genoese,  and  Datch- 
men ;  but  no  Englishmen  figured  among  them,  and  it  was  a  con- 
stant source  of  grief  to  Hatteras  to  see  his  fellow-countrymen 
excluded  from  the  glorious  band  of  sailors  who  made  the  great 
discoveries  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries. 

Hatteras  consoled  himself  somewhat  when  he  considered  mod- 
ern times  :  the  English  took  their  revenge  with  Stuart,  McDougall 
Stuart,  Burke,  Wells,  King,  Gray,  in  Australia ;  with  Palliser  in 
America ;  with  Havnoan  in  Syria ;  with  Cyril  Graham,  Wadding- 
ton,  Cunningham,  in  India ;  and  with  Barth,  Burton,  Speke, 
Grant,  and  Livingstone  in  Africa. 

But  this  w\as  not  enough ;  for  Hatteras  these  men  were  rather 
finishers  than  discoverers ;   something  better  was  to  be  done,  so 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  93 

he  invented  a  country  in  order  to  have  the  lionor  of  discover- 
ing it. 

Now  he  had  noticed  that  if  the  English  were  in  a  minority  with 
regard  to  the  early  discoveries,  that  if  it  was  necessary  to  go  back 
to  Cook  to  make  sure  of  New  Caledonia  in  1774,  and  of  the  Sand- 
wich Islands  where  he  was  killed  in  1778,  there  was  nevertheless 
one  corner  of  the  globe  on  which  they  had  centred  all  their  efforts. 

This  was  the  northern  seas  and  lands  of  North  America. 

In  fact,  the  list  of  polar  discoveries  runs  as  follows  :  — 

Nova  Zembla,  discovered  by  Willoughby  in  1553. 
Island  of  Wiegehts,  discovered  by  Barrow  in  1556. 
West  Coast  of  Greenland,  discovered  by  Davis  in  1585. 
Davis  Strait,  discovered  by  Davis  in  1587. 
Spitzbergen,  discovered  by  Willoughby  in  1596. 
Hudson's  Bay,  discovered  by  Hudson  in  1610. 
Baffin's  Bay,  discovered  by  Baffin  in  1616. 

During  recent  years  Hearne,  Mackenzie,  John  Koss,  Parry, 
Franklin,  Richardson,  Beechey,  James  Ross,  Back,  Dease,  Simpson, 
Rae,  Inglefield,  Belcher,Austin,Kellet,  Moore,  MacClure,  Kennedy, 
MacClintock,  were  incessantly  exploring  these  unknown  regions. 

The  northern  coast  of  America  had  been  accurately  made  out, 
the  Northwest  Passage  nearly  discovered,  but  that  was  not 
enough ;  there  was  something  greater  to  be  done,  and  this  John 
Hatteras  had  twice  tried,  fitting  out  ships  at  his  own  expense ; 
he  wjinted  to  reach  the  Pole  itself,  and  thus  to  crown  the  list  of 
English  discoveries  by  a  glorious  success. 

To  reach  the  Pole  itself  was  the  aim  of  his  life. 

After  many  successful  voyages  in  the  southern  seas,  Hatteras 
tried  for  the  first  time  in  1846  to  reach  the  North  through  Baf- 
fin's Bay,  but  he  could  get  no  farther  than  latitude  74°  ;  he 
sailed  in  the  sloop  Halifax ;  his  crew  suffered  terribly,  and  John 
Hatteras  carried  his  temerity  so  far  that  henceforth  sailors  were 
averse  to  undertaking  a  similar  expedition  under  such  a  leader. 

Notwithstanding,  in  1850,  Hatteras  succeeded  in  obtaining  for 
the  schooner  Farewell  about  twenty  determined  men,  but  who 
were  persuaded  especially  by  the  high  pay  offered  their  boldness. 
It  was  then  that  Dr.  Clawbonny  began  to  correspond  with  John 


94  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

Hatteras,  whom  he  did  not  know,  about  accompanying  him ;  but 
the  post  of  surgeon  was  filled,  fortunately  for  the  doctor. 

The  Farewell,  following  the  route  taken  by  the  Neptune  of 
Aberdeen  in  1817,  went  to  the  north  of  Spitzbergen,  as  far  as 
latitude  76°.  There  they  were  obliged  to  winter ;  but  their  suf- 
ferings M^ere  such,  and  the  cold  so  intense,  that  of  all  on  board, 
Hatteras  alone  returned  to  England.  He  was  picked  up  by  a 
Danish  whaler  after  he  had  walked  more  than  two  hundred  miles 
across  the  ice. 

The  excitement  produced  by  the  return  of  this  man  alone  was 
intense ;  who,  after  this,  would  accompany  Hatteras  in  his  bold 
attempts  %  Still  he  did  not  abandon  the  hope  of  trying  again. 
His  father,  the  brewer,  died,  and  he  came  into  possession  of  an 
enormous  fortune. 

Meanwhile  something  had  happened  which  cut  John  Hatteras 
to  the  heart. 

A  brig,  the  Advance,  carrying  seventeen  men,  equipped  by  Mr. 
Grinnell,  a  merchant,  commanded  by  Dr.  Kane,  and  sent  out  in 
search  of  Franklin,  went  as  far  north,  through  Baffin's  Bay  and 
Smith's  Sound,  as  latitude  82°,  nearer  to  the  Pole  than  any  of  his 
predecessors  had  gone. 

Now  this  was  an  American  ship.  Grinnell  was  an  American, 
Kane  was  an  American  ! 

It  is  easy  to  understand  how  the  customary  disdain  of  the  Eng- 
lishman for  the  Yankee  turned  to  hatred  in  the  heart  of  Hat- 
teras ;  he  made  up  his  mind,  at  any  price,  to  beat  his  bold  rival, 
and  to  reach  the  Pole  itself. 

For  two  years  he  lived  at  Liverpool  incognito.  He  was  taken 
for  a  sailor.  He  saw  in  Richard  Shandon  the  man  he  wanted ; 
he  presented  his  plans  by  an  anonymous  letter  to  him*  and  to  Dr. 
Claw  bonny.  The  Forward  was  built  and  equipped.  Hatteras 
kept  his  name  a  secret ;  otherwise  no  one  would  have  gone  with 
him.  He  resolved  only  to  take  command  of  the  brig  at  some 
critical  juncture,  and  when  his  crew  had  gone  too  far  to  be  able  to 
retreat ;  he  kept  in  reserve,  as  we  have  seen,  the  power  of  making 
generous  offers  to  the  men,  so  that  they  would  follow  him  to  the 
end  of  the  world. 


'John  Hatteras."  —  Page  95. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  95 

In  fact,  it  was  to  the  end  of  the  world  that  he  wanted  to  go. 

Now  matters  looked  very  serious,  and  John  Hatteras  made 
himself  known. 

His  dog,  the  fiiithful  Duke,  the  companion  of  his  expeditions, 
was  the  first  to  recognize  him,  and  fortunately  for  the  bold,  and 
unfortunately  for  the  timid,  it  was  firmly  established  that  the 
captain  of  the  Forward  was  John  Hatteras. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE   captain's   PLANS. 

The  appearance  of  this  famous  person  was  variously  received 
by  the  different  members  of  the  crew :  some  allied  themselves 
strongly  with  him,  moved  both  by  boldness  and  by  avarice ;  oth- 
ers took  renewed  interest  in  the  expedition,  but  they  reserved  to 
themselves  the  right  of  protesting  later ;  besides,  at  that  time,  it 
was  hard  to  make  any  resistance  to  such  a  man.  Hence  every 
man  went  back  to  his  place.  The  20th  of  May  w^as  Sunday,  and 
consequently  a  day  of  rest  for  the  crew. 

The  officers  took  counsel  together  in  the  doctor's  cabin ;  there 
were  present  Hatteras,  Shandon,  Wall,  Johnson,  and  the  doctor. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  the  captain,  with  his  peculiarly  gentle  but 
impressive  voice,  "  you  know  my  project  of  going  to  the  Pole ; 
I  want  to  get  your  opinion  of  the  undertaking.  What  do  you 
think  about  it,  Shandon  ] " 

"I  have  not  to  think,  Captain,"  answered  Shandon,  coldly;  "I 
have  only  to  obey." 

Hatteras  was  not  surprised  at  this  answer. 

"  Richard  Shandon,"  he  resumed  with  equal  coldness,  "  I  ask 
your  opinion  about  our  probable  chance  of  success." 

"  Well,  Captain,"  answered  Shandon,  "  facts  must  answer  for 
me ;  all  attempts  hitherto  have  failed  ;  I  hope  we  may  be  more 
fortunate." 

"  We  shall  be.     And,  gentlemen,  what  do  you  think  ]" 


96 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


"As  for  me,"  replied  the  doctor,  "I  consider  your  design  prac- 
ticable, Captain ;  and  since  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  at  some 
time  or  other  explorers  will  reach  the  Pole,  I  don't  see  why  we 
should  not  do  it." 

"  There  are  very  good  reasons  why  w'e  should,"  answered  Hat- 
teras,  "for  we  have  taken  measures  to  make  it  possible,  and  we 
shall  profit  by  the  experience  of  others.  And,  Shandon,  you 
must  accept  my  thanks  for  the  care  you  have  given  to  the  equip- 
ment of  the  brig ;  there  are  some  ill-disposed  men  in  the  crew, 
w^hom  I  shall  soon  bring  to  reason ;  but  on  the  whole,  I  can  give 
nothing  but  praise." 


Shandon  bowed  coldly.  His  position  on  the  Forward,  of  which 
he  had  thought  himself  commander,  was  a  false  one.  Hatteras 
understood  this,  and  said  nothing  more  about  it. 

"As  for  you,  gentlemen,"  he  resumed,  addressing  Wall  and 
Johnson,  "  I  could  not  myself  have  chosen  officers  more  skilled 
and  intrepid." 

"  On  my  word,  Captain,  I  am  your  man,"  answered  Johnson ; 
"  and  although  I  think  your  plan  a  very  bold  one,  you  can  count 
on  me  to  the  end." 

"And  on  me  too,"  said  Wall. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  97 

"  As  for  you,  Doctor,  I  know  your  worth  —  " 

"  Well,  you  know  then  a  great  deal  more  than  I  do,"  answered 
the  doctor,  quickly. 

"  Now,  gentlemen,"  said  Hatteras,  "  it  is  well  that  you  should 
know  on  what  good  grounds  I  have  made  up  my  mind  about  the 
accessibility  of  the  Pole.  In  1817  the  Neptune,  of  Aberdeen, 
went  to  the  north  of  Spitzbergen,  as  far  as  latitude  82°.  In  1826 
the  celebrated  Parry,  after  his  third  voyage  in  polar  seas,  started 
also  from  the  extremity  of  Spitzbergen,  and  on  sledges  went  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  farther  north.  In  1852,  Captain  Ingle- 
field  reached,  through  Smith's  Sound,  latitude  78°  35'.  All  these 
were  English  ships,  and  were  commanded  by  Englishmen,  our 
fellow-countrymen." 

Here  Hatteras  paused. 

"  I  ought  to  add,"  he  resumed  with  some  formality,  and  as  if  he 
could  hardly  bring  himself  to  utter  the  words,  —  "I  ought  to  add 
that  in  1854  the  American,  Captain  Kane,  in  the  brig  Advance, 
went  still  farther  north,  and  that  his  lieutenant,  Morton,  journey- 
ing over  the  ice,  hoisted  the  United  States  flag  beyond  the  eighty- 
second  degree.  Having  once  said  this,  I  shall  not  return  to  it. 
Now  the  main  point  is  that  the  captains  of  the  Neptune,  the 
Enterprise,  the  Isabella,  and  the  Advance  agree  in  the  statement 
that  beyond  these  high  latitudes  there  is  an  open  polar  sea,  en- 
tirely free  from  ice." 

"  Free  from  ice  ! "  cried  Shandon,  interrupting  the  captain, 
*'  it 's  impossible  !  " 

"  You  will  notice,  Shandon,"  observed  Hatteras,  quietly,  while 
his  eye  lighted  up  for  an  instant,  "that  I  quote  both  facts  and 
authorities.  I. must  add  that  in  1851,  when  Penny  was  stationed 
by  the  side  of  Wellington  Channel,  his  lieutenant,  Stewart,  found 
himself  in  the  presence  of  an  open  sea,  and  that  his  report  was 
confirmed  when,  in  1853,  Sir  Edward  Belcher  wintered  in  North- 
umberland Bay,  in  latitude  76°  52',  and  longitude  99°  20';  these 
reports  are  indisputable,  and  one  must  be  very  incredulous  not  to 
admit  them." 

"  Still,  Captain,"  persisted  Shandon,  "  facts  are  as  contra- 
dictory —  " 

5  G 


98  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"  You  're  wrong,  Shaiidon,  you  're  wrong !  "  cried  Dr.  Claw- 
bonny  ;  "  facts  never  contradict  a  scientific  statement ;  the  captain 
will,  I  trust,  excuse  me." 

"  Go  on,  Doctor  !  "  said  Hatteras. 

"  Well,  listen  to  this,  Shandon  ;  it  results  very  clearly  from 
geographical  facts,  and  from  the  study  of  isothermal  lines,  that 
the  coldest  spot  on  the  globe  is  not  on  the  Pole  itself;  like  the 
magnetic  pole,  it  lies  a  few  degrees  distant.  So  the  calculations  of 
Brewster,  Berghaus,  and  other  physicists  prove  that  in  our  hemi- 
sphere there  are  two  poles  of  extreme  cold  :  one  in  Asia  in  lati- 
tude 79°  30'  N.,  and  longitude  120°  E. ;  the  other  is  in  America, 
in  latitude  78°  N.,  and  longitude  97°  W.  This  last  alone  con- 
cerns us,  and  you  see,  Shandon,  that  it  is  more  than  twelve  de- 
grees below  the  Pole.  Well,  I  ask  you  why,  then,  the  sea  should 
not  be  as  free  from  ice  as  it  often  is  in  summer  in  latitude  66°, 
that  is  to  say,  at  the  southern  end  of  Baffin's  Bay  ? " 

"  Well  put,"  answered  Johnson ;  "  Dr.  Clawbonny  talks  of  those 
things  like  a  man  who  understands  them." 

"  It  seems  possible,"  said  James  Wall. 

"  Mere  conjectures  !  nothing  but  hypotheses  ! "  answered  Shan- 
don, obstinately. 

"Well,  Shandon,"  said  Hatteras,  "let  us  consider  the  two  cases; 
either  the  sea  is  free  from  ice,  or  it  is  not,  and  in  neither  case  will 
it  be  impossible  to  reach  the  Pole.  If  it  is  free,  the  Forivard 
will  take  us  there  without  difficulty ;  if  it  is  frozen,  we  must  try 
to  reach  it  over  the  ice  by  our  sledges.  You  will  confess  that  it 
is  not  impracticable ;  having  once  come  with  our  brig  to  latitude 
83°,  we  shall  have  only  about  six  hundred  miles  between  us  and 
the  Pole." 

"  And  what  are  six  hundred  miles,"  said  the  doctor,  briskly, 
"  when  it  is  proved  that  a  Cossack,  Alexis  Markoff,  went  along 
the  frozen  sea,  north  of  Russia,  on  sledges  drawn  by  dogs,  for  a 
distance  of  eight  hundred  miles,  in  twenty-four  days  ? " 

*'  You  hear  him,  Shandon,"  answered  Hatteras,  "  and  wdll  you 
say  that  an  Englishman  cannot  do  as  much  as  a  Cossack  %  " 

"  Never  !  "  cried  the  enthusiastic  doctor. 

"  Never  !  "  repeated  the  boatswain. 


TItE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  99 

"  Well,  Shandoii'?"  asked  the  captain. 

''  Captain,"  answered  Shandon,  coldly,  "  I  can  only  repeat  what 
I  have  said,  —  I  shall  obey  you." 

"Well.  Now,"  continued  Hatteras,  "let  us  consider  onr  pres- 
ent situation  ;  we  are  caught  in  the  ice,  and  it  seems  to  me  im- 
possible for  us  to  reach  Smith's  Sound  this  year.  This  is  what 
we  must  do." 

Hatteras  unfolded  on  the  table  one  of  the  excellent  charts  pub- 
lished in  1859  by  the  order  of  the  Admiralty. 

"  Be  good  enough  to  look  here.  If  Smith's  Sound  is  closed, 
Lancaster  Sound  is  not,  to  the  west  of  Baffin's  Bay ;  in  my 
opinion,  we  ought  to  go  up  this  sound  as  far  as  Barrow  Strait,  and 
thence  to  Beechey  Island.  This  has  been  done  a  hundred  times 
by  sailmg-vessels ;  we  shall  have  no  difficulty,  going  under  steam. 
Once  at  Beechey  Island,  we  shall  follow  Wellington  Sound  as  far 
northward  as  possible,  to  where  it  meets  the  channel,  connecting 
it  with  Queen's  Sound,  at  the  place  where'  the  open  sea  was -seen. 
It  is  now  only  the  20th  of  May ;  if  nothing  happens,  we  shall  be 
there  in  a  month,  and  from  there  we  shall  start  for  the  Pole. 
What  do  you  say  to  that,  gentlemen  ? " 

"  Evidently,"  said  Johnson,  "  it 's  the  only  way  open  to  us." 

"  Well,  we  shall  take  it,  and  to-morrow.  Let  Sunday  be  a  day 
of  rest ;  you  will  see,  Shandon,  that  the  Bible  is  read  as  usual ; 
the  religious  exercises  do  the  men  good,  and  a  sailor  more  than 
any  one  ought  to  put  his  trust  in  God." 

"  Very  well,  Captain,"  answered  Shandon,  who  went  away  with 
the  second  officer  and  the  boatswain. 

"  Doctor,"  said  Hatteras,  pointing  at  Shandon,  "  there  's  an 
offended  man,  whose  pride,  has  ruined  him  ;  I  can  no  longer 
depend  upon  him." 

Early  the  next  day  the  captain  had  the  launch  lowered  ;  he 
went  to  reconnoitre  the  icebergs  about  the  basin,  of  which  the 
diameter  was  hardly  more  than  two  hundred  yards.  He  noticed 
that  by  the  gradual  pressure  of  the  ice,  this  space  threatened  to 
grow  smaller ;  hence  it  became  necessary  to  make  a  breach  some- 
where, to  save  the  ship  from  being  crushed  ;  by  the  means  he 
employed,  it  was  easy  to  see  that  John  Hatteras  was  an  energetic 
man. 


100 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


In  the  first  place  he  had  steps  cut,  by  which  he  chmbed  to  the 
top  of  an  iceberg ;  from  that  point  he  saw  it  would  be  easy  to 

open  a  path  to  the  southwest ;  by  his 

^ _- . orders  an  opening  was  made  in  the 

middle  of  an  iceberg,  a  task  which  was 
completed  by  Monday  evening. 

Hatteras  could  not  depend  on  his 
blasting-cylinders  of  eight  or  ten 
pounds  of  powder,  whose  action  would 
have  been  insignificant  against  such 
large  masses ;  they  were  only  of 
use  to  break  the  field-ice ;  hence  he 
placed  in  the  opening  g.  thousand 
pounds  of  powder,  carefully  laying  it 
where  it  should  be  of  the  utmost  ser- 
vice. This  chamber,  to  which  ran  a 
long  fuse,  surrounded  by  gutta-percha, 
opened  on  the  outside.  The  gallery,  leading  thereto,  was  filled 
wdth  snow  and  lumps  of  ice,  to  which  the  cold  of  the  next  night 
gave  the  consistency  of  granite.  In  fact,  the  temperature,  un- 
der the  influence  of  the  east-wind,  fell  to  12°. 

The  next  day  at  seven  o'clock  the  Forivard  was  under  steam, 
ready  to  seize  any  chance  of  escape.  Johnson  was  charged  with 
lighting  the  mine  ;  the  fuse  was  calculated  to  burn  half  an  hour 
before  exploding  the  powder.  Hence  Johnson  had  plenty  of  time 
to  get  back  to  the  ship  ;  indeed,  within  ten  minutes  he  was  at  his 
post. 

The  crew  were  all  on  deck;  the  day  was  dry  and  tolerably 
clear ;  the  snow  was  no  longer  falling ;  Hatteras,  standing  on  the 
deck  with  Shandon  and  the  doctor,  counted  the  minutes  on  his 
watch. 

At  thirty-five  minutes  after  eight  a  dull  explosion  was  heard, 
much  less  deafening  than  had  been  anticipated.  The  outline  of 
the  mountains  was  suddenly  changed,  as  by  an  earthquake  ;  a 
dense  white  smoke  rose  liigh  in  the  air,  and  long  cracks  appeared 
in  the  side  of  the  iceberg,  of  which  the  upper  part  was  hurled  to 
a  great  distance,  and  fell  in  fragments  about  the  Forward. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  101 

But  the  way  was  by  no  means  free  yet ;  huge  lumps  of  ice  were 
suspended  u|)on  the  neighboring  icebergs,  and  their  fall  threat- 
ened to  close  the  exit. 

Hatteras  saw  their  situation  in  a  flash  of  the  eye. 

"  Wolston  !  "  he  shouted. 

The  gunner  hastened  to  him, 

"Captain  !  "  he  said. 

"  Put  a  triple  charge  in  the  forward  gun,  and  ram  it  in  as  hard 
as  possible ! " 

"  Are  we  going  to  batter  the  iceberg  down  with  cannon-balls  1 " 
asked  the  doctor. 

"  No,"  answered  Hatteras.  "  That  would  do  no  good.  No 
balls,  Wolston,  but  a  triple  charge  of  powder.     Be  quick  !  " 

In  a  few  moments  the  gun  was  loaded. 

"  What  is  he  going  to  do  without  a  ball  ? "  muttered  Shandon 
between  his  teeth. 


1 


"  We  '11  soon  see,"  answered  the  doctor. 

"  We  are  all  ready.  Captain,"  cried  Wolston. 

"  Well,"  answered  Hatteras.  "  Brunton  !  "  he  shouted  to  the 
engineer,  "  make  ready  !     Forward  a  little  !  " 

Brunton  opened  the  valves,  and  the  screw  began  to  move ;  the 
Forward  drew  near  the  blown-up  iceberg. 


102  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

"Aim  carefully  at  the  passage!"  cried  the  captain  to  the 
gunner. 

He  obeyed ;  when  the  brig  was  only  half  a  cable-length  distant, 
Hatteras  gave  the  order,  — 

"  Fire  ! " 

A  loud  report  followed,  and  the  fragments  of  ice,  detached  by 
the  commotion  of  the  air,  fell  suddenly  into  the  sea.  The  simple 
concussion  had  been  enough. 

"  Put  on  full  steam,  Brunton  !  "  shouted  Hatteras.  "  Straight 
for  the  passage,  Johnson  !  " 

Johnson  was  at  the  helm  ;  the  brig,  driven  by  the  screw,  which 
tossed  the  water  freely,  entered  easily  the  open  passage.  It  was 
time.  The  Forward  had  hardly  passed  through  the  opening,  be- 
fore it  closed  behind  it. 

It  was  an  exciting  moment,  and  the  only  calm  and  collected 
man  on  board  was  the  captain.  So  the  crew,  amazed  at  the  suc- 
cess of  this  device,  could  not  help  shouting,  — 

"  Hurrah  for  John  Hatteras  !  " 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

THE    EXPEDITIONS    IN    SEARCH    OF    FRANKLIN. 

Wednesday,  the  21st  of  May,  the  Forward  resumed  her  peril- 
ous voyage,  making  her  way  dexterously  through  the  packs  and 
icebergs,  thanks  to  steam,  which  is  seldom  used  by  explorers 
in  polar  seas;  she  seemed  to  sport  among  the  moving  masses; 
one  would  have  said  she  felt  the  hand  of  a  skilled  master,  and 
that,  like  a  horse  under  a  skilful  rider,  she  obeyed  the  thought  of 
her  captain. 

The  weather  grew  warmer.  At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  the 
thermometer  stood  at  26°,  at  six  in  the  evening  at  29°,  and  at 
midnight  at  25° ;  the  wind  was  light  from  the  southeast. 

Thursday,  at  about  three  o'clock  in  the  min-ning,  the  Forward 
arrived  in  sight  of  Possession  Bay,  on  the  American  shore,  at  the 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


103 


entrance  of  Lancaster  Sound ;  soon  Cape  Barney  came  into  sight. 
A  few  Esqaiinaux  came  out  to  the  ship ;  but  Hatteras  could  not 
stop  to  speak  with  them. 


The  peaks  of  Byam  Martin,  which  rise  above  Cape  Liverpool, 
were  passed  on  the  left,  and  they  soon  disappeared  in  the  evening 
mist ;  this  hid  from  them  Cape  Hay,  which  has  a  very  slight,  ele- 
vation, and  so  is  frequently  confounded  with  ice  about  the  shore, 
a  circumstance  which  very  often  renders  the  determination  of  the 
coast-line  in  polar  regions  very  difficult. 

Puffins,  ducks,  and  white  gulls  appeared  in  great  numbers. 
By  observation  the  latitude  was  74°  1',  and  the  longitude, 
according  to  the  chronometer,  77°  15'. 

The  two  mountains,  Catherine  and  Elizabeth,  raised  their 
snowy  heads  above  the  clouds. 

At  ten  o'clock  on  Friday  Cape  Warrender  was  passed  on  the 
right  side  of  the  sound,  and  on  the  left  Admiralty  Inlet,  a  V>ay 
which  has  never  been  fully  explored  by  navigators,  who  are 
always  hastening  westward.  The  sea  ran  rather  high,  and  the 
waves  often  broke  over  the  bows,  covering  the  deck  with  small 
fragments  of  ice.      The   land    on  the  north  coast  presented   a 


104 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


strange  appearance  with  its  high,  flat  table-lands  sparkling  be- 
neath the  sun's  rays. 

Hatteras  would  have  liked  to  skirt  these  northern  lands,  in 
order  to  reach  the  sooner  Beechey  Island  and  the  entrance  of 
Wellington  Channel;  but,  much  to  his  chagrin,  the  bank-ice 
obliged  him  to  take  only  the  passes  to  the  south. 

Hence,  on  the  26th  of  May, 
in  the  midst  of  a  fog  and 
a  snow-storm,  the  Forward 
found  herself  off  Cape  York ; 
a  lofty,  steep  mountain  was 
soon  recognized;  the  weather 
got  a  little  clearer,  and  at 
midday  the  sun  appeared  long 
enough  to  permit  an  observa- 
tion to  be  taken  :  latitude 
74°  4^  and  longitude  84°  23^ 
The  Forward  was  at  the  end 
of  Lancaster  Sound. 

Hatteras  showed  the  doctor 
on  the  chart  the  route  he  had 
taken  and  that  which  he  was 
to   follow.      At  that  time  the 
position   of  the  brig   was  interesting. 

"I  should  have  liked  to  be  farther  north,"  he  said,  ''but  it 
was  impossible ;  see,  here  is  our  exact  position." 
The  captain  pointed  to  a  spot  near  Cape  York. 
"We  are  in  the  middle  of  this  open  space,  exposed  to  every 
wind  ;  into  it  open  Lancaster  Sound,  Barrow  Strait,  Wellington 
Channel,  and  Regent's  Inlet ;  here,  of  necessity,  come  all  north- 
ern explorers." 

"  Well,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  so  much  the  worse  for  them ; 
it  is  indeed  an  open  space,  where  four  roads  meet,  and  I  don't  see 
any  sign-post  to  point  out  the  right  way  !  What  did  Parry,  Ross, 
and  Franklin  do  1"  ' 

"  They  did  n't  do  anything  in  particular ;  they  let  themselves 
be  governed  by  circumstances ;  they  had  no  choice,  I  can  assure 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  105 

you ;  at  one  time  Barrow  Strait  would  be  closed  against  one,  and 
the  next  year  it  would  be  open  for  another ;  again  the  ship  would 
be  irresistibly  driven  towards  Regent's  Inlet.  In  this  way  we 
have  at  last  been  able  to  learn  the  geography  of  these  confused 
seas." 

"  What  a  strange  region  !  "  said  the  doctor,  gazing  at  the  chart. 
"  How  everything  is  divided  and  cut  up,  without  order  or  reason ! 
It  seems  as  if  all  the  land  near  the  Pole  were  divided  in  this  way 
in  order  to  make  the  approach  harder,  while  in  the  other  hemi- 
sphere it  ends  in  smooth,  regular  points,  like  Cape  Horn  or  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  the  Indian  peninsula!  Is  it  the 
greater  rapidity  at  the  equator  which  has  thus  modified  things, 
while  the  land  lying  at  the  extremity,  which  was  fluid  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world,  could  not  condense  and  unite  as  elsewhere, 
on  account  of  slower  rotation  % " 

"That  may  be,  for  there  is  a  reason  for  everything,  and  noth- 
ing happens  without  a  cause,  which  God  sometimes  lets  students 
find  out ;  so.  Doctor,  find  it  out  if  you  can." 

"  I  shall  not  waste  too  much  time  over  it.  Captain.  But  what 
is  this  fierce  wind  1 "  added  the  doctor,  wrapping  himself  up  well. 

"  The  north-wind  is  the  common  one,  and  delays  our  progress." 

"  Still  it  ought  to  blow  the  ice  toward  the  south,  and  leave  our 
way  free." 

"  It  ought  to,  Doctor,  but  the  wind  does  n't  always  do  what  it 
ought  to.  See,  that  ice  looks  impenetrable.  We  shall  try  to 
reach  GriflSth  Island,  then  to  get  around  Cornwallis  Island  to 
reach  Queen's  Channel,  without  going  through  Wellington  Chan- 
nel. And  yet  I  am  anxious  to  touch  at  Beechey  Island  to  get 
some  more  coal." 

"  How  will  you  do  that  1 "  asked  the  astonished  doctor. 

"  Easily  ;  by  order  of  the  Admiralty,  a  great  amount  has  been 
placed  on  this  island,  to  supply  future  expeditions,  and  although 
Captain  MacClintock  took  some  in  1859,  I  can  assure  you  there 
is  still  some  left  for  us." 

"  In  fiict,  these  regions  have  been  explored  for  fifteen  years, 
and  until  certain  proof  of  Franklin's  death  was  received,  the  Ad- 
miralty always  kept  five  or  six  ships  cruising  in  these  waters.  If 
5* 


106  THE  ADVENTURES   OF  CAPTAIN  H ATT  ERAS. 

1  'm  not  mistaken,  Griffith  Island,  which  I  see  in  the  middle  of 
the  open  space,  has  become  a  general  rendezvous  for  explorers." 

''  True,  Doctor,  and  Franklin's  ill-fated  expedition  has  been  the 
means  of  our  learning  so  much  about  these  parts." 

"Exactly;  for  there  have  been  a  great  many  expeditions  since 
1845.  It  was  not  till  1848  that  there  was  any  alarm  about  the 
continued  non-appearance  of  the  Erebus  and  the  Terror,  Frank- 
lin's two  ships.  Then  the  admiral's  old  friend,  Dr.  Richardson, 
seventy  years  of  age,  went  through  Canada,  and  descended  Cop- 
permine River  to  the  Polar  Sea  ;  on  the  other  side,  James  Ross, 
in  command  of  the  Enterprise  and  the  Investigator,  sailed  from 
Upernavik  in  1848,  and  reached  Cape  York,  where  we  are  now. 
Every  day  he  threw  overboard  a  cask  containing  papers  telling 
where  he  was ;  during  fogs  he  fired  cannon  ;  at  night  he  burned 
signal-fires  and  sent  off  rockets,  carrying  always  but  little  sail ; 
finally,  he  wintered  at  Leopold's  Harbor  in  1848-49;  there  he 
caught  a  large  number  of  white  foxes  ;  he  had  put  on  their  necks 
copper  collars  on  which  was  engraved  a  statement  of  the  position 
of  the  ship  and  w^here  supplies  had  been  left,  and  he  drove  them 
away  in  every  direction  ;  then,  in  the  spring,  he  explored  the 
coast  of  North  Somerset  on  sledges,  amid  dangers  and  privations 
which  disabled  nearly  all  his  men.  He  built  cairns,  enclosing 
copper  cylinders  with  instructions  to  the  absent  expedition ;  dur- 
ing his  absence,  Lieutenant  MacClure  explored  fruitlessly  the 
northern  coast  of  Barrow  Strait.  It  is  noteworthy.  Captain,  that 
James  Ross  had  among  his  officers  two  men  who  afterwards  be- 
came celebrated,  —  MacClure,  who  found  the  Northwest  Passage, 
and  MacClintock,  who  found  the  last  remains  of  the  Franklin 
expedition." 

"  Two  good  and  brave  captains,  two  brave  Englishmen  ;  go  on. 
Doctor,  with  this  account  which  you  know  so  well ;  there  is 
always  something  to  be  learned  from  the  account  of  bold  adven- 
turers." 

''  Well,  to  conclude  with  James  Ross,  I  have  only  to  add  that 
he  tried  to  go  farther  west  from  Melville  Island ;  but  he  nearly 
lost  his  ships,  and  being  caught  in  the  ice  he  was  carried,  against 
his  will,  to  Baffin's  Bay." 


He  caught  a  large  number  of  white  foxes  :  he  had  put  on  their  necks  copper 
collars."  —  Page  106. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT    THE  NORTH  POLE.  107 

"  Carried,"  said  Hatteras,  frowning,  —  "  carried  against  his  will ! " 

"  He  had  discovered  nothing,"  resumed  the  doctor ;  "  it  was 
only  after  1850  that  English  ships  were  always  exploring  there, 
when  a  reward  of  twenty  thousand  pounds  was  offered  to  any  one 
who  should  discover  the  crews  of  the  Erehus  and  Terror.  Al- 
ready, in  1848,  Captains  Kellet  and  Moore,  in  command  of  the 
Herald  and  the  Plover,  tried  to  make  their  way  through  by  Behr- 
ing  Strait.  I  ought  to  say  that  the  winter  of  1850-51,  Captain 
Austin  passed  at  CoruwalHs  Island ;  Captain  Penny,  with  the  As- 
sistance and  Resolute,  explored  Wellington  Channel ;  old  John 
Ross,  who  discovered  the  magnetic  pole,  started  in  his  yacht,  the 
Felix,  in  search  of  his  friend ;  the  brig  Frince  Albert  made  her 
first  voyage  at  the  expense  of  Lady  Franklin ;  and,  finally,  two 
American  ships,  sent  out  by  Grinnell,  under  Captain  Haven,  car- 
ried beyond  Wellington  Channel,  were  cast  into  Lancaster  Sound. 
It  was  during  this  year  that  MacClintock,  Austin's  lieutenant, 
pushed  on  to  Melville  Island  and  to  Cape  Dundas,  the  extreme 
points  reached  by  Parry  in  1819,  and  on  Beechey  Island  were 
found  traces  of  Franklin's  wintering  there  in  1845." 

"  Yes,"  answered  Hatteras,  ^'  three  of  his  sailors  were  buried 
there,  three  fortunate  men  ! " 

"From  1851  to  1852,"  continued  the  doctor,  with  a  gesture  of 
agreement,  "  we  find  the  Frince  Albert  making  a  second  attempt 
with  the  French  lieutenant,  Bellot ;  he  winters  at  Batty  Bay  in 
Prince  Regent's  Sound,  explores  the  southwest  of  Somerset,  and 
reconnoitres  the  coast  as  far  as  Cape  Walker.  Meanwhile,  the 
Enterprise  and  Investigator,  having  returned  to  England,  came 
under  the  command  of  Collinson  and  MacClure,  and  they  rejoined 
Kellet  and  Moore  at  Behring  Strait ;  while  Collinson  returned 
to  winter  at  Hong-Kong,  MacClure  went  on,  and  after  three 
winters,  1850-51,  1851-52,  and  1852-53,  he  discovered  the 
Northwest  Passage  without  finding  any  traces  of  Fi*anklin.  From 
1852  to  1853,  a  new  expedition,  consisting  of  three  sailing-ves- 
sels, the  Assistance,  the  Resolute,  the  North  Star,  and  two  steam- 
vessels,  the  Fioneer  and  the  Intrepid,  started  out  under  the  orders 
of  Sir  Edward  Belcher,  with  Captain  Kellet  second  in  command  ; 
Sir  Edward  visited  Wellington  Channel,  wintered  in  Northumber- 


108  ^'^^^  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

land  Bay,  and  explored  the  coast,  while  Kellet,  pushing  on  as  ftir 
as  Brideport  on  Melville  Island,  explored  that  region  without  suc- 
cess. But  then  it  was  rumored  in  England  that  two  ships,  aban- 
doned in  the  ice,  Iftid  been  seen  not  far  from  New  Caledonia.  At 
once  Lady  Franklin  fitted  out  the  little  screw-steamer  Isabella, 
and  Captain  Inglefield,  after  ascending  Baffin's  Bay  to  Victoria 
Point,  at  the  eightieth  parallel,  returned  to  Beechey  Island  with 
equal  unsuccess.  At  the  beginning  of  1855  the  American  Grinnell 
defrays  the  expense  of  a  new  expedition,  and  Dr.  Kane,'  trying  to 
reacli  the  Pole  —  " 

"But  he  did  not  succeed,"  cried  Hatteras  with  violence,  "and 
thank  God  he  did  not !     What  he  did  not  do,  we  shall !  " 

"  I  know  it.  Captain,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  and  I  only  speak 
of  it  on  account  of  its  connection  with  the  search  for  Franklin. 
Besides,  it  accomplished  nothing.  I  nearly  forgot  to  say  that  the 
Admiralty,  regarding  Beechey  Island  as  a  general  rendezvous, 
ordered  the  steamer  Phoenix,  Captain  Inglefield,  in  1853,  to  carry 
provisions  there  ;  he  sailed  with  Lieutenant  Bellot,  who  for  the 
second,  and  last,  time  offered  his  services  to  England ;  we  can  get 
full  details  about  the  catastrophe,  for  Johnson,  our  boatswain, 
was  eye-witness  of  this  sad  affair." 

"  "  Lieutenant  Bellot  was  a  brave  Frenchman,"  said  Hatteras, 
"and  his  memory  is  honored  in  England." 

"Then,"  resumed  the  doctor,  "the  ships  of  Belcher's  squadron 
began  to  return  one  by  one  ;  not  all,  for  Sir  Edward  had  to 
abandon  the  Assistance  in  1854,  as  McClure  had  the  Investigator 
in  1853.  Meanwhile  Dr.  Rae,  in  a  letter  dated  July  29,  1854, 
written  from  Repulse  Bay,  gave  information  that  the  Esquimaux 
of  King  William's  Land  had  in  their  possession  different  objects 
belonging  to  the  Erehus  and  Terror;  then  there  was  no  doubt 
possible  about  the  fate  of  the  expediton  ;  the  Phoenix,  the  North 
Star,  and  the  ship  of  Collinson  returned  to  England ;  there  was 
then  no  English  ship  in  these  waters.  But  if  the  government 
seemed  to  have  lost  all  hope,  Lady  Franklin  did  not  despair,  and 
with  what  was  left  of  her  fortune  she  fitted  out  the  Fox,  com- 
manded by'MacClintock;  he  set  sail  in  1857,  wintered  about  where 
you  made  yourself  known  to  us,  Captain ;  he  came  to  Beechey 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  109 

Island,  August  11,  1858;  the  next  winter  he  passed  at  Bellot 
Sound;  in  February,  1859,  he  began  his  explorations  anew;  on 
the  6th  of  May  he  found  the  document  which  left  no  further  doubt 
as  to  the  fate  of  the  Erebus  and  Terror,  and  returned  to  England 
at  the  end  of  the  same  year.  That  is  a  complete  account  of  all 
that  has  been  done  in  these  regions  during  the  last  fifteen  years ; 
and  since  the  return  of  the  Fox,  no  ship  has  ventured  among 
these  dangerous  waters  !  " 

"  Well,  we  shall  try  it !  "  said  Hatteras. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

THE    FORWARD    DRIVEN    SOUTHWARD. 

Towards  evening  the  weather  cleared  up,  and  land  was  clearly 
to  be  seen  between  Cape  Sepping  and  Cape  Clarence,  which  juts 
out  to  the  east,  then  to  the  south,  and  is  connected  to  the  main- 
land on  the  west  by  a  low  tongue  of  land.  There  was  no  ice  at 
the  entrance  of  Regent's  Sound ;  but  it  was  densely  massed  be- 
yond Leopold  Harbor,  as  if  to  form  an  impassable  barrier  to  the* 
northward  progress  of  the  Forward. 

Hatteras,  who,  although  he  carefully  concealed  his  feelings,  was 
exceedingly  annoyed,  had  to  blow  out  a  way  with  powder  in  order 
to  enter  Leopold  Harbor;  he" reached  it  at  midday,  on  Sunday, 
May  27th;  the  brig  was  securely  anchored  to  the  large  icebergs, 
which  were  as  firm,  solid,  and  hard  as  rock. 

At  once  the  captain,  followed  by  the  .doctor,  Johnson,  and  his 
dog  Duke,  leaped  out  upon  the  ice  and  soon  reached  the  land. 
Duke  leaped  about  wnth  joy ;  besides,  since  the  captain  had 
made  himself  known,  he  had  become  very  sociable  and  very 
gentle,  preserving  his  ill-temper  for  some  of  the  crew,  whom  his 
master  disliked  as  much  as  he  did. 

The  harbor  w^as  free  from  the  ice  which  is  generally  forced  there 
by  the  east- wind ;  the  sharp  peaks,  covered  with  snow,  looked 
like  a  number  of  white  waves.     The  house  and  lantern,  built  by 


110         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

James  Ross,  were  still  in  a  tolerable  state  of  preservation ;  but 
the  provisions  appeared  to  have  been  eaten  by  foxes,  and  even  by 
bears,  of  which  fresh  traces  were  to  be  seen ;  part  of  the  devas- 
tation was  probably  due  to  the  hand  of  man,  for  some  ruins  of 
Esquimaux  huts  were  to  be  seen  on  the  shores  of  the  bay. 

The  six  tombs,  enclosing  six  sailors  of  the  Enterprise  and  the 
Investigator,  were  recognizable  by  little  mounds  of  earth ;  they 
had  been  respected  by  all,  by  both  men  and  beasts. 

On  first  setting  his  foot  on  this  northern  earth,  the  doctor  was 
really  agitated ;  it  would  not  be  easy  to  describe  the  emotions 
one  feels  at  the  sight  of  these  ruined  houses,  tents,  huts,  supplies, 
which  nature  preserves  so  perfectly  in  cold  countries. 

"  There,"  said  he  to  his  companions,  - —  "  there  is  the  spot  which 
James  Ross  himself  named  Camp  Refuge  !    If  Franklin's  expedi- 


tion had  reached  this  spot,  it  would  have  been  saved.  Here  is 
the  engine  which  was  taken  out  and  left  here,  and  the  furnace 
which  warmed  the  crew  of  the  Prince  Albert  in  1851  ;  everything 
remains  as  it  was  left,  and  one  might  fancy  that  Kennedy,  her 
captain,  had  sailed  away  from  here  yesterday.  This  is  the  launch 
that  sheltered  them  for  some  days,  for  Kennedy  was  separated 
from  his  ship,  and  onl}^  saved  by  Lieutenant  Bellot,  who  braved 
the  cold  of  October  to  join  him." 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


Ill 


"A  brave  and  excellent  officer  he  was,"  said  Johnson.  "I 
knew  him." 

While  the  doctor  eagerly  sought  for  traces  of  previous  winter- 
ings there,  Hatteras  busied  himself  with  collecting  the  scanty 
fragments  of  fuel  and  provisions  which  lay  there.  The  next  day 
was  devoted  to  carrying  them  on  board  ship.  The  doctor  ex- 
plored the  whole  neighborhood,  never  going  too  far  from  the  brig, 
and  sketched  the  most  remarkable  views.  The  weather  gradu- 
ally grew  milder;  the  snow-drifts  began  to  melt.  The  doctor 
made  a  tolerably  large  collection  of  northern  birds,  such  as  gulls, 
divers,  molly-nochtes,  and  eider-ducks,  which  resemble  ordinary 
ducks,  with  a  white  back  and  breast,  a  blue  belly,  the  top  of  the 
head  blue,  the  rest  of  the  plumage  white,  shaded  with  different 


tints  of  green  ;  many  of  them  had  already  plucked  from  their 
bellies  the  eider-down,  which  both  the  male  and  the  female  devote 
to  lining  their  nests.  The  doctor  also  saw  great  seals  breathing 
at  the  surface  of  the  water,  but  he  was  unable  to  draw  one. 

In  his   wanderings  he   discovered  the  stone  on  which  is  en- 
graved the  following  inscription  :  — 

[EI] 
1849, 


112 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


which  marks  the  passage  of  the  Enterprise  and  Investigator ;  he 
pushed  on  to  Cape  Clarence,  to  the  spot  where,  in  1833,  John 
and  James  Ross  waited  so  impatiently  for  the  ice  to  thaw.  The 
earth  was  covered  with  the  skulls  and  bones  of  animals,  and 
traces  of  the  dwellings  of  Esquimaux  were  to  be  seen. 


^^^va/ 


The  doctor  thought  of  erecting  a  cairn  at  Leopold  Harbor,  and 
of  leaving  a  letter  there  to  indicate  the  passage  of  the  Forward 
and  the  aim  of  the  expedition.  But  Hatteras  formally  objected ; 
he  did  not  wish  to  leave  behind  him  any  traces  which  might  be 
of  use  to  a  rival.  In  spite  of  all  he  could  say,  the  doctor  was 
obliged  to  yield  to  the  captain's  will.  Shandon  was  ready  enough 
to  blame  this  obstinacy,  for,  in  case  of  accident,  no  ship  could 
have  put  out  to  the  aid  of  the  Forward. 

Hatteras  refused  to  comply.  Having  completed  his  prepara- 
tions on  Monday,  he  tried  once  more  to  go  to  the  north  through 
the  ice,  but,  after  dangerous  efforts,  he  w\as  obliged  to  descend 
again  Regent's  Channel ;  he  was  utterly  averse  to  remaining  at 
Leopold's  Harbor,  which  is  open  one  day  and  closed  the  next  by 
the  unheralded  motion  of  the  ice,  —  a  frequent  phenomenon  in 
these  seas,  and  one  against  which  navigators  have  to  be  ever  on 
their  guard. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  113 

If  Hatteras  kept  his  anxiety  from  the  others,  he  was  at  heart 
very  anxious ;  he  wanted  to  go  northward,  and  he  was  obliged  to 
retreat  to  the  south  !  Where  would  that  bring  him  1  Was  he 
going  as  far  back  as  Victoria  Harbor  in  the  Gulf  of  Boothia, 
where  Sir  John  Ross  wintered  in  1833  1  Should  he  find  Bellot 
Sound  free  at  this  time,  and,  by  going  around  North  Somerset, 
could  he  ascend  through  Peel  Sound  1  Or  should  he,  like  his 
predecessors,  be  caught  for  many  winters,  and  be  obliged  to  con- 
sume all  his  supplies  and  provisions  % 

These  fears  tormented  him ;  but  he  had  to  decide ;  he  put 
about  and  started  for  the  south. 

Prince  Regent's  Channel  is  of  nearly  uniform  width  from  Leo- 
pold's Harbor  to  Adelaide  Bay.  The  Forward  went  rapidly 
through  the  ice,  with  better  fortune  than  many  other  ships,  most 
of  which  required  a  month  to  descend  the  channel,  even  in  a  bet- 
ter season ;  it  is  true  that  none  of  these  ships,  except  the  Fox, 
had  steam  at  their  command,  and  w^ere  obliged  to  do  their  best 
against  frequent  unfavorable  winds. 

The  crew  seemed  overjoyed  at  leaving  the  northern  regions ; 
they  had  but  a  slight  desire  to  reach  the  Pole  ;  they  were  alarmed 
at  Hatteras's  plans,  for  his  reputation  as  a  fearless  man  inspired 
them  with  but  little  confidence.  Hatteras  tried  to  make  use  of 
every  opportunity  to  go  forward,  whatever  the  consequences  might 
be.  And  yet  in  these  parts,  to  advance  is  all  very  well,  but  one 
must  also  maintain  his  position  and  not  run  the  risk  of  losing  it. 

The  Forward  went  on  under  full  steam ;  the  black  smoke 
whirled  in  spirals  about  the  sparkling  summits  of  the  icebergs ; 
the  weather  was  changeable,  turning  from  a  dry  cold  to  a  snow- 
storm with  inconceivable  rapidity.  Since  the  brig  drew  but  little 
water,  Hatteras  hugged  the  west  shore ;  he  did  not  want  to  miss 
the  entrance  of  Bellot  Sound,  for  the  Gulf  of  Boothia  has  no  other 
entrance  towards  the  south  than  the  slightly  known  sound  of  the 
Fury  and  the  Hecla  ;  hence  the  gulf  would  be  impassable,  if  Bel- 
lot Sound  were  missed  or  found  impracticable. 

By  evening  the  Forward,  was  in  sight  of  Elwin  Bay,  which  was 
recognized  by  its  high,  steep  cliffs ;  Tuesday  morning  Batty  Bay 
was  seen,   where,  on  the  10th  of  September,   1851,  the  Prince 


114         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

Albert  anchored  for  the  winter.  The  doctor  examined  the  coast 
with  interest  through  his  glass.  From  this  point  started  the  ex- 
peditions which  determined  the  shape  of  North  Somerset.  The 
weather  was  clear  enough  for  them  to  see  the  deep  ravines  sur- 
rounding the  bay. 

The  doctor  and  Johnson  were  probably  the  only  ones  who  took 
any  interest  in  these  deserted  countries.  Hatteras,  always  study- 
ing his  charts,  talked  little  ;  his  silence  increased  as  the  ship 
drew  southward ;  he  often  went  upon  the  quarter-deck,  and  there 
he  would  remain  for  hours,  with  folded  arms,  gazing  absently  at  the 
horizon.  His  orders,  when  he  gave  any,  were  short  and  quick. 
Shandon  maintained  a  cold  silence,  and  drawing  more  and  more 
into  himself,  he  had  nothing  more  to  do  with  Hatteras  than  was 
officially  required ;  James  Wall  remained  devoted  to  Shandon, 
and  modelled  his  conduct  after  that  of  his  friend.  The  rest  of 
the  crew  waited  for  whatever  might  turn  up,  ready  to  make  the 
best  use  of  it  for  their  own  profit.  On  board  there  was  none  of 
the  unanimity  which  is  so  necessary  for  the  accomplishment  of 
gi-eat  things.     Hatteras  knew  this  well. 

During  the  day  two  whalers  were  seen  making  toward  the 
south ;  a  white  bear,  too,  was  saluted  with  a  few  rifle-shots,  but 


apparently  without  success.     The  captain  knew  the  worth  of  an 
hour  at  that  time,  and  refused  permission  to  chase  the  animal. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  115 

Wednesday  morning  the  end  of  Regent  Channel  was  passed ; 
the  angle  of  the  west  coast  was  followed  by  a  deep  curve  in  the 
land.  On  examining  his  chart,  the  doctor  recognized  Somerset- 
House  Point,  or  Point  Fury. 

"  There,"  he  said  to  his  usual  companion,  —  "  there  is  where  the 
first  English  ship  was  lost  that  was  sent  to  these  seas  in  1815,  in 
Parry's  third  voyage ;  tlie  Fury  was  so  much  injured  by  the  ice 
in  her  second  winter,  that  the  crew  were  obliged  to  abandon  her 
and  to  return  to  England  in  her  companion,  the  Hecla'' 

"A  good  reason  for  having  another  ship,"  answered  Johnson ; 
"  that  is  a  precaution  which  polar  explorers  should  not  neglect ; 
but  Captain  Hatteras  was  not  the  man  to  burden  himself  with  a 
companion  ! " 

'*Do  yovi  consider  him  rash,  Johnson?"  asked  the  doctor. 

"  I  ?  0,  I  don't  say  anything  of  the  sort,  Dr.  Clawbonny  !  But 
see  those  piles  there,  with  fragments  of  a  tent  hanging  to  them." 

"Yes,  Johnson,  it  is  there  Parry  unloaded  all  his  ship's  sup- 
plies, and,  if  my  memory  serves  me  right,  the  roof  of  the  hut  he 
built  was  made  out  of  a  mainsail  covered  by  the  running-rigging 
of  the  Furyr 

"That  must  have  changed  a  good  deal  since  1825." 

"Not  so  very  much.  In  1829,  John  Ross  kept  his  crew  safe 
and  sound  in  this  light  building.  In  1851,  when  Prince  Albert 
sent  out  an  expedition,  this  hut  was  still  standing ;  Captain  Ken- 
nedy repaired  it  nine  years  ago.  It  would  be  interesting  to  visit 
it,  but  Hatteras  is  unwilling  to  stop." 

"And  he  is  probably  right,  Dr.  Clawbonny;  if  in  England 
time  is  money,  here  it  is  safety,  and  for  the  delay  of  a  day,  of  an 
hour  even,  the  whole  voyage  might  be  rendered  useless.  We 
must  let  him  do  as  he  pleases." 

On  Thursday,  June  1st,  the  Forward  sailed  diagonally  across 
Creswell  Bay ;  from  Point  Fury  the  coast  rises  in  steep  rocks 
three  hundred  feet  high ;  towards  the  south,  it  is  lower ;  a  few 
snowy  summits  are  to  be  seen,  of  a  regular  shape,  while  others, 
more  fantastic,  were  hidden  in  the  clouds. 

During  that  day  the  weather  grew  milder,  but  cloudier ;  they 
lost  sight  of  land ;  the  thermometer  rose  to  32° ;  a  few  water- 


116  THE.  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

quail  were  to  be  seen,  and  flocks  of  wild  geese  flew  toward  the 
north ;  the  crew  laid  aside  some  of  their  thick  clothes ;  they 
began  to  be  aware  of  the  approach  of  summer  in  the  arctic 
regions. 

Toward  evening  the  Forward  doubled  Cape  Garr}^,  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  from  the  shore.  The  lead  marked  ten  to  twelve  fathoms, 
and  they  bore  along  the  shore  to  Brentford  Bay.  In  this  latitude 
they  were  to  find  Bellot  Sound,  a  sound  which  entirely  escaped 
the  notice  of  Sir  John  Boss  in  his  expedition  of  1828 ;  his  charts 
indicated  an  unbroken  coast-line,  with  the  least  irregularities  in- 
dicated with  the  utmost  care ;  hence  it  is  to  be  supposed  that 
when  he  passed  by  the  entrance  of  the  sound,  it  was  completely 
closed  with  ice  and  so  could  not  be  distinguished  from  the  land. 

This  sound  was  really  discovered  by  Captain  Kennedy  in  an 
excursion  made  in  April,  1852  ;  he  named  it  after  Lieutenant 
Bellot,  as  "  a  just  tribute,"  as  he  said,  "  to  the  important  services 
rendered  to  our  expedition  by  the  French  officer." 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE    MAGNETIC    POLE. 

As  Hatteras  drew  near  this  sound  he  felt  his  anxiety  redoub- 
ling  ;  in  fact,  the  success  of  his  expedition  was  at  stake  ;  so  far  he 
had  done  nothing  more  than  his  predecessors,  the  most  successful 
of  whom,  MacClintock,  had  consumed  fifteen  months  in  reaching 
this  spot;  but  that  was  little,  indeed  nothing,  if  he  could  not 
make  Bellot  Sound ;  being  unable  to  return,  he  would  be  kept  a 
prisoner  until  the  next  year. 

Hence  he  took  upon  himself  the  care  of  examining  the  coast ; 
he  went  up  to  the  lookout,  and  on  Saturday  passed  many  hours 
there. 

The  crew  were  all  acquainted  with  the  situation  of  the  ship ; 
an  unbroken  silence  reigned  on  board  ;  the  engine  was  slackened  ; 
the  Forward  ran  as  near  shore  as  possible ;   the  coast  was  lined 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  117 

with  ice  which  the  warmest  summers  could  not  melt ;  a  practised 
eye  was  needed  to  make  out  an  entrance  through  them. 

Hatteras  was  comparing  his  charts  with  the  coast-line.  The 
sun  having  appeared  for  a  moment  at  noon,  Shandon  and  Wall 
took  an  observation,  the  result  of  which  was  at  once  told  him. 

There  was  half  a  day  of  anxiety  for  all.  But  suddenly,  at  about 
two  o'clock,  these  words  were  shouted  from  aloft,  — 

"  Head  to  the  west,  and  put  on  all  steam." 

The  brig  obeyed  at  once,  turning  to  the  point  directed;  the 
screw  churned  the  water,  and  the  Forward  plunged  under  a  full 
i-ead  of  steam  between  two  swiftly  running  ice-streams. 

The  path  was  found ;  Hatteras  came  down  to  the  quarter-deck, 
and  the  ice-master  went  aloft. 

"  Well,  Captain,"  said  the  doctor,  "  we  have  entered  this  famous 
sound  at  last  !  " 

"Yes,"  answered  Hatteras;  "but  entering  is  not  all,  we  have 
got  to  get  out  of  it  too." 

And  with  these  words  he  went  to  his  cabin. 

"  He  is  right,"  thought  the  doctor ;  "  we  are  in  a  sort  of  trap, 
without  much  space  to  turn  about  in,  and  if  we  had  to  winter 
here  !  —  well,  we  should  n't  be  the  first  to  do  it,  and  where  others 
lived  through  it,  there  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  ! " 

The  doctor  was  right.  It  was  at  this  very  place,  in  a  little 
sheltered  harbor  called  Port  Kennedy  by  MacClintock  himself, 
that  the  Fox  wintered  in  1858.  At  that  moment  it  was  easy  to 
recognize  the  lofty  granite  chains,  and  the  steep  beaches  on  each 
side. 

Bellot  Sound,  a  mile  broad  and  seventeen  long,  with  a  current 
running  six  or  seven  knots,  is  enclosed  by  mountains  of  an  esti- 
mated height  of  sixteen  hundred  feet ;  it  separates  North  Som- 
erset from  Boothia  ;  it  is  easy  to  see  that  there  is  not  too  much 
sailing  room  there.  The  Forward  advanced  carefully,  but  still 
she  advanced ;  tempests  are  frequent  in  this  narrow  pass,  and  the 
brig  did  not  escape  their  usual  violence  ;  by  Hatteras's  orders, 
all  the  topsail-yards  were  lowered,  and  the  topmasts  also  ;  in 
spite  of  everything  the  ship  labored  fearfully  ;  the  heavy  seas 
kept  the  deck  continually  deluged  with  water ;  the  smoke  flew 


118 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT T ERAS. 


eastward  with  inconceivable  rapidity ;  they  went  on  almost  at 
haphazard  through  the  floating  ice  ;  the  barometer  fell  to  29° ; 
it  was  hard  to  stay  on  deck,  so  most  of  the  men  were  kept  below 
to  spare  them  unnecessary  exposure. 

Hatteras,  Johnson, 
and  Shandon  remained 
on  the  quarter-deck,  in 
spite  of  the  whirlwinds 
of  snow  and  rain  ;  and 
the  doctor,  who  had 
just  asked  himself  what 
was  the  most  disagree- 
able thing  to  be  done  at 
that  time,  soon  joined 
them  there;  they  could 
not  hear,  and  hardly 
could  they  see,  one  an- 
other ;  so  he  kept  his 
thoughts  to  himself 

Hatteras  tried  to 
pierce  the  dense  cloud 
of  mist,  for,  according 
to  his  calculation,  they 
should  be  through  the 
strait  at  six  o'clock  of 
the  evening.  At  that  time  exit  seemed  closed,  and  Hatteras  was 
obliged  to  stop  and  anchor  to  an  iceberg ;  but  steam  w^as  kept  up 
all  night. 

The  weather  was  terrible.  Every  moment  Ihe  Forward  threat- 
ened to  snap  her  cables ;  there  was  danger,  too,  lest  the  moun- 
tain should  be  driven  by  the  wind  and  crush  the  brig.  The 
officers  kept  on  the  alert,  owing  to  their  extreme  anxiety  ;  be- 
sides the  snow,  large  lumps  of  frozen  spray  were  blown  about  by 
the  hurricane  like  sharp  arrows. 

The  temperature  arose  strangely  in  that  terrible  night;  the 
thermometer  marked  57°  ;  and  the  doctor,  to  his  great  surprise, 
thought  he  noticed  some  flashes  of  lightning  followed  by  distant 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  119 

thunder.  This  seemed  to  corroborate  the  testimony  of  Scoresby, 
who  noticed  the  same  phenomenon  above  latitude  65°.  Captain 
Parry  also  observed  it  in  1821. 

Towards  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  weather  changed  with 
singular  rapidity  ;  the  temperature  fell  to  the  freezing-point ;  the 
wind  shifted  to  the  north  and  grew  quiet.  The  western  opening 
of  the  strait  could  be  seen,  but  it  was  entirely  closed.  Hatteras 
gazed  anxiously  at  the  coast,  asking  himself  if  there  really  were 
any  exit. 

Nevertheless,  the  brig  put  out  slowly  into  the  ice-streams, 
while  the  ice  crushed  noisily  against  her  bows;  the  packs  at  this 
time  were  six  or  seven  feet  thick  ;  it  was  necessary  carefully  to 
avoid  them,  for  if  the  ship  should  try  to  withstand  them,  it  ran  the 
risk  of  being  lifted  half  out  of  the  water  and  cast  on  her  beam-ends. 


At  noon,  for  the  first  time,  a  magnificent  solar  phenomenon 
could  be  observed,  a  halo  with  two  parhelions ;  the  doctor  ob- 
served it,  and  took  its  exact  dimensions ;  the  exterior  arc  was 
only  visible  for  about  thirty  degrees  each  side  of  the  horizontal 
diameter  ;  the  two  images  of  the  sun  were  remarkably  clear  ; 
the  colors  within  the  luminous  area  were,  going  toward  the  out- 
side, red,  yellow,  green,  faint  blue,  and  last  of  all  white,  gently 
fading  away,  without  any  sharp  line  of  termination. 


120  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

The  doctor  remembered  Thomas  Young's  ingenious  theory 
about  these  meteors ;  he  supposed  that  certain  clouds  composed 
of  prisms  of  ice  are  hanging  in  the  air ;  the  sun's  rays  falling  on 
these  prisms  are  refracted  at  angles  of  sixty  and  ninety  degrees. 
The  halos  can  only  be  formed  in  a  clear  sky.  The  doctor  thought 
this  an  ingenious  explanation. 

Sailors,  who  are  familiar  with  northern  seas,  consider  this 
phenomenon  a  forerunner  of  heavy  snow\  If  this  should  be  the 
case,  the  position  of  the  Forward  w^as  very  critical.  Hence 
Hatteras  resolved  to  push  on  ;  during  the  rest  of  that  day  and 
the  next  night  he  took  no  rest,  but  examined  the  horizon  through 
his  glass,  entering  every  inlet,  and  losing  no  opportunity  to  get 
out  of  the  strait. 

But  in  the  morning  he  was  compelled  to  stop  before  the  im- 
penetrable ice.  The  doctor  joined  him  on  the  quarter-declc. 
Hatteras  led  him  clear  aft  where  they  could  talk  without  fear 
of  being  overheard. 

"  We  are  caught,"  said  Hatteras.  "  It  's  impossible  to  go 
on." 

"  Impossible  ]  "   said  the  doctor. 

"  Impossible  !     All  the  powder  on  board  the  Forward  would 
not  open  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  us." 
•   "  What  are  we  to  do  %  "  asked  the  doctor. 

"  I  don't  know.     Curse  this  unlucky  year  !  " 

"  Well,  Captain,  if  we  must  go  into  winter-quarters,  we  '11  do  it. 
As  well  here  as  anywhere  else  !  " 

"  Of  course,"  said  Hatteras  in  a  low  voice,  "but  we  ought  not 
to  be  going  into  winter-quarters,  especially  in  the  month  of  June. 
It  is  demoralizing,  and  bad  for  the  health.  The  spirits  of  the 
crew  are  soon  cast  dow'n  during  this  long  rest  among  real  suffer- 
ings. So  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  winter  at  a  latitude  nearer 
the  Pole." 

"  Yes,  but,  unluckily,  Baffin's  Bay  w^\s  closed." 

"  Any  one  else  would  have  found  it  open,"  cried  Hatteras ; 
"  that  American,  that  —  " 

"  Come,  Hatteras,"  said  the  doctor,  purposely  interrupting 
him,  "it's  now  only  the.  5th  of  June;  we  should  not  despair; 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  121 

a  path  may  open  before  us  suddenly ;  you  know  the  ice  often 
breaks  into  separate  pieces,  even  when  the  weather  is  cahn,  as  if 
it  were  driven  apart;  by  some  force  of  repulsion ;  at  any  moment 
we  may  find  the  sea  free." 

"  Well,  if  that  happens,  we  shall  take  advantage  of  it.  It  is 
not  impossible  that  beyond  Bellot  Strait  we  might  get  norths 
ward  through  Peel  Sound  or  MacClintock  Channel,  and  then  —  " 

"  Captain,"  said  James  Wall,  approaching,  "  the  ice  threatens 
to  tear  away  the  rudder." 

"  Well,"  answered  Hatteras,  "never  mind ;  I  sha'  n't  unship  it ; 
I  want  to  be  ready  at  any  hour,  day  or  night.     Take  every  pre- 
caution, Mr.  Wall,  and  keep  the  ice  off;  but  don't  unship  it,  you 
understand." 
'  "But—"  began  Wall. 

"  I  don't  care  to  hear  any  remarks,  sir,"  said  Hatteras,  severely. 
"  Go  !  " 

Wall,  returned  to  his  post. 

"Ah!"  said  Hatteras,  angrily,  "I  would  give  five  years  of  my 
life  to  be  farther  north  !  I  don't  know  any  more  dangeroiis  place  ; 
and  besides,  we  are  so  near  the  magnetic  pole  that  the  compass 
is  of  no  use ;  the  needle  is  inactive,  or  always  shifting  its  direc- 
tion." 

"  I  confess,"  said  the  doctor,  "  that  it  is  not  plain  sailing  ;  but 
still,  those  who  undertook  it  were  prepared  for  such  dangers,  and 
there  is  no  need  to  be  surprised." 

"  Ah,  Doctor  !  the  crew  has  changed  very  much,  and  you  have 
seen  that  the  officers  have  begun  to  make  remarks.  The  high  pay 
offered  the  sailors  induced  them  to  ship  ;  but  they  have  their 
bad  side,  for  as  soon  as  they  are  off"  they  are  anxious  to  get  back. 
Doctor,  I  have  no  encouragement  in  my  undertaking,  and  if  I 
fail,  it  won't  be  the  fault  of  such  or  such  a  sailor,  but  of  the  ill- 
will  of  certain  officers.     Ah,  they  '11  pay  dearly  for  it !  " 

"  You  are  exaggerating,  Hatteras." 

"  Not  at  all !     Do  you  fancy  the  crew  are  sorry  for  the  obsta- 
cles we  are  meeting'?      On   the   contrary,   they  hope  I  shall  be 
compelled  to  abandon  my  plans.     So  they  do  not  murmur,  and 
when  the  Forward  is  headed  for  the  south,  it  will  be  the  same 
6 


122  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

thing.  Fools  !  They  imagine  they  are  returning  to  England  ! 
But  when  I  'm  turned  towards  the  north,  you  will  see  a  differ- 
ence !  I  swear  solemnly  that  no  living  being  shall  make  me 
swerve  from  my  course  !  Give  me  a  passage,  an  opening  through 
which  my  brig  can  go,  and  I  shall  take  it,  if  I  have  to  leave 
half  her  sheathing  behind  !  " 

The  desires  of  the  captain  were  destined  to  be  satisfied  in  a 
measure.  As  the  doctor  had  foretold,  there  was  a  sndden  change 
in  the  evening;  under  some  influence  of  the  wind,  the  ice-fields 
separated ;  the  Forward  pushed  on  boldly,  breaking  the  ice  with 
her  steel  prow;  all  the  night  they  advanced,  and  towards  six 
o'clock  they  were  clear  of  Bellot  Strait. 

But  great  was  Hatteras's  anger  at  finding  the  way  to  the  north 
closed  !  He  was  able  to  hide  his  despair ;  and  as  if  the  only  open 
path  were  the  one  of  his  choice,  he  turned  the  Forward  towards 
Franklin  Sound.  Being  unable  to  go  up  Peel  Sound,  he  deter- 
mined to  go  around  Prince  of  Wales  Land,  to  reach  MacCIintock 
Channel.  But  he  knew  that  Shandon  and  Wall  could  not  be 
deceived,  and  were  conscious  of  the  failure  of  his  hopes. 

Nothing  especial  happened  on  the  6th  of  June ;  snow  fell,  and 
the  prophecy  of  the  halo  came  true. 

For  thirty-six  hours  the  Forward  followed  the  sinuosities  of  the 
coast  of  Boothia,  without  reaching  Prince  of  Wales  Land.  .Hat- 
teras  put  on  all  steam,  burning  his  coal  extravagantly ;  he  still 
intended  to  get  further  supplies  on  Beech ey  Island ;  on  Thursday 
he  arrived  at  Franklin  Sound,  and  he  still  found  the  way  north- 
ward impassable. 

His  position  was  a  desperate  one  ;  he  could  not  return  ;  the  ice 
pushed  him  onward,  and  he  saw  his  path  forever  closing  behind 
him,  as  if  there  were  no  open  sea  where  he  had  passed  but  an 
hour  before. 

Hence,  not  only  was  the  Forward  unable  to  go  toward  the 
north,  but  she  could  not  stop  for  a  moment  lest  she  should  be  im- 
prisoned, and  she  fled  before  the  ice  like  a  ship  before  a  storm. 

Friday,  June  7th,  she  arrived  near  the  coast  of  Boothia,  at  the 
entrance  of  James  Ross  Sound,  which  had  to  be  avoided  because 
its  only  exit  is  to  the  west,  close  to  the  shore  of  America. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


123 


The  observations  taken  at  noon  showed  them  to  be  in  latitude 
70°  b'  \1",  and  longitude  96°  46'  i5" ;  when  the  doctor  heard  this 
he  examined  his  chart,  and  found  that  they  were  at  the  magnetic 
pole,  at-  the  very  point  where  James  Ross,  the  nephew  of  Sir 
John,  came  to  determine  its  situation. 

The  land  was  low  near  the  coast,  and  it  rose  only  about  sixty 
feet  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  from  the  sea. 

The  boiler  of  the  Forward  needed  cleaning;  the  captain  an- 
chored his  ship  to  a  field  of  ice,  and  gave  the  doctor  leave  to  go 
ashore  with  the  boatswain.  For  himself,  being  indifferent  to 
everything  outside  of  his  own  plans,  he  shut  himself  up  in  his 
cabin,  and  studied  the  chart  of  the  Pole. 

The  doctor  and  his  companion  easily  reached  land ;  the  first- 
named  carried  a  compass  for  his  experiments ;  he  wanted  to  test 
the  work  of  James  Ross  ;  he  easily  made  out  the  mound  of  stones 
erected  by  him ;  he  ran  towards  it ;  an  opening  in  the  cairn  let 
him  see  a  tin  box  in  which  James  Ross  had  placed  an  account  of 
his  discovery.  No  living  being  had  visited  this  lonely  spot  for 
thirty  years. 

At  this  place  a  needle 
suspended  as  delicately  as 
possible  assumed  a  nearly 
vertical  position  under  the 
magnetic  influence  ;  hence 
the  centre  of  attraction  w^as 
near,  if  not  immediately 
beneath,  the  needle. 

The  doctor  made  the 
experiment  with  all  care. 
But  if  James  Ross,  owing 
to  the  imperfection  of  his 
instruments,  found  a  decli- 
nation of  only  89°  50',  the 
real  magnetic  point  is  found 
within  a  miimte  of  this  spot.  .  Dr.  Clawbonny  was  more  for- 
tunate, and  at  a  little  distance  from  there  he  found  a  declination 
of  90°. 


124         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

"  This  is  exactly  the  magnetic  pole  of  the  earth  ! "  he  cried, 
stamping  on  the  ground. 

*'Just  here]"  asked  Johnson. 

"  Precisely  here,  my  friend  ! " 

"  Well,  then,"  resumed  the  boatswain,  "  we  must  give  up  all 
the  stories  of  a  magnetic  mountain  or  large  mass." 

"Yes,  Johnson,"  answered  the  doctor,  laughing,  "those  are 
empty  hypotheses  !  As  you  see,  there  is  no  mountain  capable  of 
attracting  ships,  of  drawing  their  iron  from  them  anchor  after 
anchor,  bolt  after  bolt !  and  your  shoes  here  are  as  light  as  any- 
where in  the  world." 

"  But  how  do  you  explain  —  " 

"  There  is  no  explanation,  Johnson ;  we  are  not  wise  enough 
for  that.  But  what  is  mathematically  certain  is  that  the  mag- 
netic pole  is  at  this  very  spot ! " 

"Ah,  Dr.  Clawbonny,  how  glad  the  captain  would  be  to  say  as 
much  of  the  North  Pole  !  " 

"  He  '11  say  it,  Johnson ;  he  '11  say  it  !  " 

"  God  grant  it !  "  was  the  answ^er. 

The  doctor  and  his  companion  raised  a  cairn  at  the  spot  where 
they  tried  their  experiment,  and  the  signal  for  their  return  being 
made,  they  returned  to  the  ship  at  five  o'clock  of  the  evening. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

THE    FATE    OF    SIR   JOHN    FRANKLIN. 

The  Forward  succeeded,  though  not  without  difficulty,  in  get- 
ting by  James  Ross  Sound,  by  frequent  use  of  the  ice-saws  and 
gunpowder ;  the  crew  was  very  much  fatigued.  Fortunately  the 
temperature  was  agreeable,  and  even  thirty  degi*ees  above  what 
James  Ross  found  at  the  same  time  of  year.  The  thermometer 
marked  34°. 

Saturday  they  doubled  Cape  Felix  at  the  northern  end  of  King 
William's  Land,  one  of  the  smaller  islands  of  northern  seas. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


125 


At  that  time  the  crew  became  very  much  depressed ;  tliey 
gazed  wistfully  and  sadly  at  its  far-stretching  shores. 

In  fact,  they  were  gazing  at  King  William's  Land,  the  scene  of 
one  of  the  saddest  tragedies  of  modern  times !  Only  a  few  miles 
to  the  west  the  Erebus  and  Terror  were  lost. 

The  sailors  of  the  Forward  were  familiar  with  the  attempts 
made  to  find  Franklin,  and  the  result  they  had  obtained,  but 
they  did  not  know  all  the  sad  details.  Now,  while  the  doctor 
was  following  on  his  chart  the  course  of  the  ship,  many  of  them. 
Bell,  Bolton,  and  Simpson,  drew  near  him  and  began  to  talk  with 
him.  Soon  the  others  followed  to  satisfy  their  curiosity  ;  mean- 
while the  brig  was  advancing  rapidly,  and  the  bays,  capes,  and 
promontories  of  the  coast  passed  before  their  gaze  like  a  gigantic 
panorama. 


Hatteras  was  pacing  nervously  to  and  fro  on  the  quarter-deck  ; 
the  doctor  found  himself  on  the  bridge,  surrounded  by  the  meu 
of  the  crew ;  he  readily  understood  the  interest  of  the  situation, 
and  the  impression  that  would  be  made  by  an  account  given' 
under  those  circumstances,  hence  he  resumed  the  talk  he-  had 
begun  with  Johnson. 

"  You  know,  my  friends,  how  Franklin  began  :  like  Cook  and 
Nelson,  he  was  first  a  cabin-boy ;  after  spending  his  youth  in  long 


126  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  H ATT  ERAS. 

sea- voyages,  he  made  up  his  mind,  in  1845,  to  seek  the  Northwest 
Passage  ;  he  commanded  the  Erehus  and  the  Terror,  two  stanch 
vessels,  which  had  visited^  the  antarctic  seas  in  1840,  under  the 
command  of  James  Ross.  The  Erebus,  in  which  FrankUn  sailed, 
carried  a  crew  of  seventy  men,  all  told,  with  Fitz-James  as  cap- 
tain ;  Gore  and  Le  Vesconte,  lieutenants ;  Des  Voeux,  Sargent,  and 
Couch,  boatswains;  and  Stanley,  surgeon.  The  Terror  carried  sixty- 
eight  men.  Crozier  was  the  captain  ;  the  lieutenants  were  Little, 
Hodgson,  and  Irving ;  boatswains,  Horesby  and  Thomas ;  the  sur- 
geon, Peddie.  In  the  names  of  the  bays,  capes,  straits,  prom- 
ontories, channels,  and  islands  of  these  latitudes  you  find  memo- 
rials of  most  of  these  unlucky  men,  of  whom  not  one  has  ever  again 
seen  his  home  !  In  all  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  men  !  We 
know  that  the  last  of  Franklin's  letters  were  written  from  Disco 
Island,  and  dated  July  12,  1845.  He  said,  "I  hope  to  set  sail 
to-night  for  Lancaster  Sound."  What  followed  his  departure 
from  Disco  Bay  ]  The  captains  of  the  whalers,  the  Prince  of 
Wales  and  the  Enterprise,  saw  these  two  ships  for  the  last  time  in 
Melville  Bay,  and  nothing  more  was  heard  of  them.  Still  we  can 
follow  Franklin  in  his  course  westward  ;  he  went  through  Lan- 
caster and  Barrow  Sounds  and  reached  Beechey  Island,  where  he 
passed  the  winter  of  1845-46." 

"But  how  is  this  known  1 "  asked  Bell,  the  carpenter. 

"  By  three  tombs  which  the  Austin  expedition  found  there  in 
1850.  Three  of  Franklin's  sailors  had  been  buried  there;  and, 
moreover,  by  a  paper  found  by  Lieutenant  Hobson  of  the  Fox, 
dated  April  25,  1848.  We  know  also  that,  after  leaving  winter- 
quarters,  the  Erehus  and  Terror  ascended  Wellington  Channel  as 
far  as  latitude  77°  ;  but  instead  of  pushing  to  the  north,  which 
they  doubtless  found  impossible,  they  returned  towards  the 
south  —  " 

"  And  that  was  a  fatal  mistake  ! "  uttered  a  grave  voice. 
"Safety  lay  to  the  north." 

Every  one  turned  round.  It  was  Hatteras,  who,  leaning  on 
the  rail  of  the  quarter-deck,  had  just  made  that  solemn  re- 
mark. 

"  Without  doubt,"  resumed  the  doctor,  "  Franklin  intended  to 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  127 

make  his  way  to  the  American  shore  ;  but  tempests  beset  him, 
and  September  12,  1846,  the  two  ships  were  caught  in  the  ice,  a 
few  miles  from  here,  to  the  northwest  of  Cape  Felix ;  they  were 
carried  to  the  north-northwest  of  Point  Victory ;  there,"  said  the 
doctor,  pointing  out  to  the  sea.  "  Now,"  he  added,  "  the  ships 
were  not  abandoned  till  April  22,  1848.  What  happened  during 
these  nineteen  months  1  What  did  these  poor  men  do  %  Doubt- 
less they  explored  the  surrounding  lands,  made  every  effort  to 
escape,  for  the  admiral  was  an  energetic  man  ;  and  if  he  did  not 
succeed  —  " 

"  It 's  because  his  men  betrayed  him,"  said  Hatteras  in  a  deep 
voice. 

The  sailors  did  not  dare  to  lift  their  ej^es ;  these  words  made 
them  feel  abashed. 

"  To  be  brief,  this  paper,  of  which  I  spoke,  tells  us,  besides, 
that  Sir  John  Franklin  died,  worn  out  by  his  sufferings,  June 
11,  1847.  All  honor  to  his  memory  !  "  said  the  doctor,  removing 
his  hat. 

The  men  did  the  same  in  silence. 

"  What  became  of  these  poor  men,  deprived  of  their  leader, 
during  the  next  ten  months  1  They  remained  on  board  of  their 
ships,  and  it  was  not  till  April,  1848,  that  they  made  up  their 
mind  to  abandon  them ;  one  hundred  and  five  men  survived  out 
of  the  hundred  and  thirty-eight.  Thirty-three  had  died  !  Then 
Captains  Crozier  and  Fitz-James  erected  a  cairn  at  Point  Victory, 
and  left  their  last  paper  there.  See,  my  friends,  we  are  passing 
by  that  point.  You  can  see  traces  of  the  cairn,  placed,  so  to 
speak,  at  the  farthest  point  reached  by  John  Ross  in  1831  ! 
There  is  Cape  Jane  Franklin  !  There  Point  Franklin !  There 
Point  Le  Vesconte !  There  Erebus  Bay,  where  the  launch,  made 
of  pieces  of  one  of  the  ships,  was  found  on  a  sledge !  There  were 
found  silver  spoons,  plenty  of  food,  chocolate,  tea,  and  religious 
books.  The  hundred  and  five  survivors,  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Crozier,  set  out  for  Great  Fish  River.  How  far  did  they 
get  1  Did  they  reach  Hudson's  Bay  1  Have  any  survived  ]  W^hat 
became  of  them  after  that  1  —  " 

"  I  will  tell  you  what  became  of  them,"  said  John  Hatteras  in 


128  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

an  energetic  voice.  "  Yes,  they  tried  to  reach  Hudson's  Bay,  and 
separated  into  several  parties.  They  took  the  road  to  the  south. 
In  1854  a  letter  from  Dr.  Rae  states  that  in  1850  the  Esquimaux 
had  met  in  King  William's  Land  a  detachment  of  forty  men,  chasing 
sea-cows,  travelling  on  the  ice,  dragging  a  boat  along  with  them, 
thin,  pale,  and  worn  out  with  suffering  and  fatigue.  Later,  they 
discovered  thirty  corpses  on  the  mainland  and  five  on  a  neigh- 
boring island,  some  half  buried,  others  left  without  burial ;  some 
lying  beneath  an  overturned  boat,  others  under  the  ruins  of  a 
tent;  here  lay  an  officer  with  his  glass  swung  around  his  shoulder, 
and  his  loaded  gun  near  him ;  farther  on  were  kettles  with  the 
remains  of  a  horrible  meal.  At  this  news,  the  Admiralty  urged 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  send  its  most  skilful  agents  to 
this  place.  They  descended  Black  River  to  its  mouth.  They 
visited  Montreal  and  Maconochie  Islands,  and  Point  Ogle.  In 
vain !  All  these  poor  fellows  had  died  of  miser}^  suffering,  and 
starvation,  after  trying  to  prolong  their  lives  by  having  recourse 
to  cannibalism.  That  is  what  became  of  them  along  their  way 
towards  the  south,  which  was  lined  with  their  mutilated  bodies. 
Well,  do  you  want  to  follow  their  path  1 " 

Hatteras's  ringing  voice,  passionate  gestures,  and  glowing  face 
produced  an  indescribable  effect.  The  crew,  moved  by  the  sight 
of  these  ill-omened  lands,  cried  with  one  voice,  — 

"  To  the  north  !  to  the  north  !  " 

"  Well,  to  the  north  !  Safety  and  glory  await  us  there  at  the 
north  !  Heaven  is  declaring  for  us  !  The  wind  is  changing !  The 
passage  is  free  !    Prepare  to  go  about  !  " 

The   sailors  hastened  to  their  places  ;    the   ice-streams  grew 

slowly  free  ;  the  Forward  went  about  rapidly,  and  ran  under  full 

steam  towards  MacClintock's  Channel. 

t 
Hatteras  was  justified  in  coimting  on  a  freer  sea ;  on  his  way 

he  retraced  the  probable  path  of  Franklin  ;  he  went  along  the 

eastern  side  of  Prince  of  Wales  Land,  which  is  clearly  defined, 

w^hile  the  other  shore  is  still  unknown.     Evidently  the  clearing 

away  of  the  ice  towards  the  south  took  place  through  the  eastern 

strait,  for  it  ai3peared  perfectly  clear  :  so  the  Forward  was  able  to 

make  up  for  lost  time  ;  she  was  put  under  full  steam,  so  that  the 


All  these  poor  fellows  had  died  of  misery,  suffering,  and  starvation."  —  Page  12S. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE,  129 

14th  they  passed  Osborne  Bay,  and  the  farthest  points  reached  by 
the  expeditions  of  1851.  There  was  still  a  great  deal  of  ice  about 
them,  but  there  was  every  indication  that  the  Forward  would 
have  clear  sailing-way  before  her. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

THE    WAY    NORTHWARD. 

The  crew  seemed  to  have  returned  to  their  habits  of  discipline 
and  obedience.  Their  duties  were  slight  and  infrequent,  so  that 
they  had  plenty  of  leisure.  The  temperature  never  fell  below  the 
freezing-point,  and  the  thaw  removed  the  greatest  obstacles  from 
their  path. 

Duke  had  made  friends  with  Dr.  Clawbonny.  They  got  on 
admirably  together.  But  as  in  friendship  one  friend  is  always 
sacrificed  to  the  other,  it  must  be  said  that  the  doctor  was  not 
the  other.  Duke  did  with  him  whatever  he  pleased.  The  doctor 
obeyed  him  as  a  dog  obeys  his  master.  Moreover,  Duke  con- 
ducted himself  very  amicably  with  most  of  the  officers  and  sail- 
ors ;  only,  instinctively  doubtless,  he  avoided  Shandon ;  he  had, 
too,  a  grudge  against  Pen  and  F'oker ;  his  hatred  for  them  mani- 
fested itself  in  low  growls  when  they  came  near  him.  They,  for 
their  part,  did  not  dare  attack  the  captain's  dog,  "his  familiar 
spirit,"  as  Clifton  called  him. 

In  a  word,  the  crew  had  taken  courage  again. 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  said  James  Wall  one  day  to  Richard  Shan- 
don, "  that  the  men  took  the  captain's  words  for  earnest ;  they 
seem  to  be  sure  of  success." 

"  They  are  mistaken,"  answered  Shandon  ;  "  if  they  would  only 
reflect,  and  consider  our  condition,  they  would  see  we  are  simply 
going  from  one  imprudence  to  another." 

"  Still,"  resumed  Wall,  "  we  are  in  a  more  open  sea ;  we  are 
going  along  a  well-known  route  ;  don't  you  exaggerate  somewhat, 
Shandon  % " 

"  Not  a  bit,  Wall ;  the  hate  and  jealousy,  if  you  please,  with 
6*  I 


130 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  IIATTEBAS. 


which  Hatteras  inspires  me,  don't  blind  my  eyes.  Say,  have  you 
seen  the  coal-bunkers  lately  % " 

"  No,"  answered  Wall. 

"  Well !  go  below,  and  you  '11  see  how  near  we  are  to  the  end 
of  our  supply.  By  right,  we  ought  to  be  going  under  sail, 
and  only  starting  our  engine  to  make  headway  against  currents 
or  contrary  winds ;  our  fuel  ought  to  be  burned  only  with  the 
strictest  economy,  for  who  can  say  where  and  for  how  long  we 


may  be  detained?  But  Hatteras  is  pushed  by  this  mania  of  going 
forward,  of  reaching  the  inaccessible  Pole,  and  he  does  n't  care 
for  such  a  detail.  Whether  the  wind  is  fair  or  foul,  he  goes  on 
under  steam ;  and  if  he  goes  on  we  run  a  risk  of  being  very  much 
embarrassed,  if  not  lost." 

"  Is  that  so,  Shandon  1    That  is  serious  ! " 

"  You  are  right,  Wall,  it  is  ;  not  only  would  the  engine  be  of 
n<D  use  to  us  if  we  got  into  a  tight  place,  but  w^hat  are  we  to  do 
in  the  winter  1  We  ought  to  take  some  precautions  against 
the  cold  in  a  country  where  the  mercury  often  freezes  in  the 
thermometer." 

*'  But  if  I  'm  not  mistaken,  Shandon,  the  captain  intends  get- 
ting a  new  supply  at  Beech ey  Island ;  they  say  there  is  a  great 
quantity  there." 


THE  ENGLISH  AT    THE  NORTH  POLE.  131 

"  Can  finy  one  choose  where  he  '11  go  in  these  seas,  Wall  %  Can 
one  count  on  finding  such  or  such  a  channel  free  of  ice  ?  And  if 
he  misses  Beechey  Island,  or  can't  reach  it,  what  is  to  become 
of  us  1  " 

"  You  are  right,  Shandon ;  Hatteras  seems  to  me  unwise ;  but 
why  don't  you  say  something  of  this  sort  to  him  ? " 

"  No,  Wall,"  answered  Shandon,  with  ill-disguised  bitterness, 
"  I  have  made  up  my  mind  not  to  say  a  word  ;  I  am  not  respon- 
sible any  longer  for  the  ship ;  I  shall  await  events  ;  if  I  receive 
any  commands,  I  obey,  and  I  don't  proclaim  my  opinions." 

"  Let  me  tell  you  you  are  wrong,  Shandon  ;  for  the  well-being 
of  all  is  at  stake,  and  the  captain's  imprudence  may  cost  us  all 
dear." 

"  And  if  I  were  to  speak,  Wall,  would  he  listen  to  me  % " 

Wall  did  not  dare  say  he  would. 

"  But,"  he  added,  "  he  would  perhaps  listen  to  remonstrances 
of  the  crew." 

"The  crew,"  said  Shandon,  shrugging  his  shoulders  ;  "but,  my 
dear  Wall,  have  n't  you  noticed  that  they  care  for  everything  else 
more  than  for  their  safety  ?  They  know  they  're  getting  near  lat- 
itude 72°,  and  that  a  thousand  pounds  is  paid  for  every  degree 
of  latitude  beyond  which  is  reached." 

"You  are  right,  Shandon,"  answered  Wall,  "and  the  captain 
has  taken  the  surest  means  of  securing  his  men." 

"Without  doubt,"  answered  Shandon;  "for  the  present,  at 
least." 

"  What  do  you  mean]" 

"  I  mean  that  all  will  go  very  well  in  the  absence  of  all  dan- 
gers and  fatigues,  in  an  open  sea ;  Hatteras  has  caught  them  by 
his  money ;  but  what  is  done  for  pay  is  ill  done.  But  once  let 
hardships,  dangers,  discomfort,  sickness,  melancholy,  and  fierce 
cold  stare  them  in  the  face, — and  we  are  flying  towards  them 
now,  —  and  you  will  see  whether  they  remember  the  pay  they  are 
to  get."  -  "       '      ' 

"So,  in  your  opinion,  Shandon,  Hatteras  will  fixiU" 

"Exactly;  he  will' fail.  In  such  an  enterprise,  there  should  be 
an  identity  of  interests  among  the  leaders,  a  sympathy  which  is 


132       •  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  EATTERAS. 

lacking  here.  Besides,  Hatteras  is  mad ;  his  whole  past  proves 
it !  But  we  shall  see  !  Circumstances  may  arise  in  which  the 
command  of  the  ship  will  have  to  be  given  to  a  less  foolhardy 
captain  —  " 

"  Still,"  said  Wall,  shaking  his  head  doubtfully,  "  Hatteras  will 
always  have  on  his  side  —  " 

"  He  will  have,"  interrupted  Shandon,  —  "  he  will  have  that  Dr. 
Clawbonny,  who  only  cares  to  study ;  Johnson,  who  is  a  slave  to 
discipline,  and  who  never  takes  the  trouble  to  reason ;  perhaps 
one  or  two  besides,  like  Bell,  the  carpenter,  —  four  at  the  most,  and 
there  are  eighteen  on  board !  No,  Wall,  Hatteras  has  not  the 
confidence  of  the  crew ;  he  knows  it  well,  and  he  tries  to  make  up 
for  it  by  bribery ;  he  made  a  good  use  of  the  account  of  Frank- 
lin's catastrophe  to  create  a  different  feeling  in  their  excited 
minds ;  but  that  won't  last,  I  tell  you ;  and  if  he  don't  reach 
Beechey  Island,  he  is  lost ! " 

"  If  the  crew  suspected  —  " 

"I  beg  of  3'ou,"  said  Shandon,  quickl}^,  "not  to  say  a  word 
about  this  to  the  crew ;  they  '11  find  it  out  for  themselves.  Now, 
at  any  rate,  it  is  well  to  go  on  towards  the  north.  But  who  can 
say  whether  what  Hatteras  takes  for  a  step  towards  the  Pole  may 
not  be  really  retracing  our  steps?  At  the  end  of  MacClintock 
Channel  is  Melville  Bay,  and  thence  open  the  straits  which  lead 
back  to  Baffin's  Bay.  Hatteras  had  better  take  care  I  The  way 
west  is  easier  than  the  way  north." 

From  these  words  Shandon's  state  of  mind  may  be  judged,  and 
how  justified  the  captain  was  in  suspecting  a  treacherous  dispo- 
sition in  him. 

Shandon,  moreover,  w^as  right  when  he  ascribed  the  present 
satisfaction  of  the  crew  to  the  prospect  they  had  of  passing  lati- 
tude 72°.  This  greed  of  gold  seized  the  least  audacious.  Clifton 
had  made  out  every  one's  share  with  great  exactness.  Leaving 
out  the  captain  and  the  doctor,  who  could  not  be  admitted  to  the 
division,  there  were  sixteen  men  on  board  the  Forward.  The 
amount  was  a  thousand  pounds,  that  was  £72  IO5.  for  each  man, 
for  every  degree.  If  they  should  ever  reach  the  Pole  the  eighteen 
degrees  to  be  crossed  would  give  each  one  a  sum  of  £1,125,  a  fair 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  133 

fortune.  This  whim  would  cost  the  captain  X  18,000;  but  he 
was  rich  enough  to  pay  for  such  a  costly  trip  to  the  Pole. 

These  calculations  aroused  wonderfully  the  avarice  of  the  crew, 
as  can  be  readily  believed,  and  more  than  one  longed  to  pass  lat- 
itude 72°,  who,  a  fortnight  before,  rejoiced  to  be  sailing  south- 
ward. 

The  Forward  sailed  by  Cape  Alworth  June  16th.  Mount  Raw- 
linson  raised  its  white  peaks  towards  the  sky ;  the  snow  and  mist 
exaggerated  its  size  so  that  it  appeared  colossal ;  the  temperature 
remained  a  few  degrees  above  the  freezing-point ;  cascades  and 
cataracts  appeared  on  the  sides  of  the  mountain  ;  avalanches  kept 
falling  with  a  roar  like  that  of  artillery.  The  long  stretches  of 
glaciers  made  a  loud  echo.  The  contrast  between  this  wintry 
scene  and  the  thaw  made  a  wonderful  sight.  The  brig  sailed  along 
very  near  the  coast;  they  were  able  to  see  on  some  sheltered 
rocks  a  few  bushes  bearing  modest  little  roses,  some  reddish 
moss,  and  a  budding  dwarf  willow  barely  rising  above  the 
ground. 

At  last,  June  19th,  in  latitude  72°,  they  doubled  Point  Minto, 
which  forms  one  of  the  extremities  of  Ommanney  Bay ;  the  brig 
entered  Melville  Bay,  called  "  the  Sea  of  Money  "  by  Bolton  ;  this 
good-natured  fellow  used  to  be  always  jesting  on  this  subject, 
much  to  Clawbonny's  amusement. 

The  obstacles  to  their  course  were  but  few,  for  June  23d,  in  the 
teeth  of  a  strong  northeasterly  breeze,  they  passed  latitude  74°. 
This  waa  at  the  middle  of  Melville  Bay,  one  of  the  largest  seas  of 
this  region.  It  was  first  crossed  by  Captain  Parry,  in  his  great 
expedition  of  1819,  and  there  it  was  that  his  crew  won  the  .£5,000 
promised  by  act  of  Parliament. 

Clifton  contented  himself  with  remarking  that  there  were  two 
degrees  between  latitude  72°  and  latitude  74°  :  that  was  £125 
to  his  credit.  But  they  told  him  that  a  fortune  did  not  amount 
to  much  up  there,  and  that  a  man  could  be  called  rich  only  when 
he  could  have  a  chance  to  drink  to  his  wealth ;  it  seemed  better 
to  wait  for  the  moment  when  they  could  meet  at  some  tavern  in 
Liverpool  before  rejoicing  and  rubbing  their  hands. 


134  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT T ERAS. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

A    WHALE    IN    SIGHT. 

Melville  Bay,  although  perfectly  navigable,  was  not  wholly 
free  of  ice ;  immense  ice-fields  could  be  seen  stretching  to  the 
horizon ;  here  and  there  appeared  a  few  icebergs,  but  they  stood 
motionless  as  if  anchored  in  the  ice.  The  Forward  went  under 
full  steam  through  broad  passes  where  she  had  plenty  of  sailing- 
room.  The  wind  shifted  frequently  from  one  point  of  the  com- 
pass to  another. 

The  variabihty  of  the  wind  in  the  arctic  seas  is  a  remarkable 
fiict,  and  very  often  only  a  few  minutes  intervene  between  a  calm 
and  a  frightful  tempest.  This  was  Hatteras's  experience  on  the 
•23d  of  June,  in  the  middle  of  this  huge  bay. 

The  steadiest  winds  blow  generally  from  the  ice  to  the  open 
sea,  and  are  very  cold.  On  that  day  the  thermometer  fell  several 
degrees ;  the  wind  shifted  to  the  southward,  and  the  heavy 
gusts,  having  passed  over  the  ice,  discharged  themselves  of  their 
dampness  under  the  form  of  a  thick  snow.  Hatteras  immediately 
ordered  the  sails  which  were  aiding  the  engine  to  be  reefed;  but 
before  this  could  be  done  his  main-topsail  was  carried  away. 

Hatteras  gave  his  orders  with  the  utmost  coolness,  and  did  not 
leave  the  deck  during  the  storm ;  he  was  obliged  to  run  before 
the  gale.  The  wind  raised  very  heavy  waves  which  hurled  about 
pieces  of  ice  of  every  shape,  torn  from  the  neighboring  ice-fields ; 
the  brig  was  tossed  about  like  a  child's  toy,  and  ice  was  dashed 
against  its  hull ;  at  one  moment  it  rose  perpendicularly  to  the  top 
of  a  mountain  of  water ;  its  steel  prow  shone  like  molten  metal ; 
then  it  sank  into  an  abyss,  sending  forth  great  whirls  of  smoke, 
while  the  screw  revolved  out  the  water  with  a  fearful  clatter. 
Rain  and  snow  fell  in  torrents. 

The  doctor  could  not  miss  such  a  chance  to  get  wet  to  the 
skin ;    he  remained  on   deck,  gazing  at  the  storm  with  all  the 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.    '  135 

admiration  '  such  a  spectacle  cannot  fail  to  draw  forth.  One 
standing  next  to  him  could  not  have  heard  his  voice ;  so  he  said 
nothing,  but  looked,  and  soon  he  saw  a  singular  phenomenon,  one 
peculiar  to  the  northern  seas. 

The  tempest  was  confined  to  a  small  space  of  about  three  or  four 
miles ;  in  fact,  the  wind  loses  much  of  its  force  in  passing  over 
the  ice,  and  cannot  carry  its  violence  very  far;  every  now  and 
then  the  doctor  would  see,  through  some  rift  in  the  storm,  a  clear 
sky  and  a  quiet  sea  beyond  the  ice-fields ;  hence  the  Forward  had 
only  to  make  her  way  through  the  passes  to  find  smooth  sailing ; 
but  she  ran  a  risk  of  being  dashed  against  the  moving  masses 
which  obeyed  the  motion  of  the  waves.  Notwithstanding,  Hat- 
teras  succeeded  in  a  few  hours  in  carrying  his  vessel  into  smooth 
water,  while  the  violence  of  the  storm,  now  at  its  worst  at  the 
horizon,  w^as  dying  away  within  a  few  cable-lengths  from  the 
Forioard. 

Melville  Bay  then  looked  very  different  ;  by  the  influence 
of  the  winds  and  waves  a  large  number  of  icebergs  had  been 
detached  from  the  shores  and  were  now  floating  northward, 
continually  crashing  against  one  another.  They  could  be 
counted  by  hundreds ;  but  the  bay  is  very  broad,  and  the  brig 
avoided  them  without  difficulty.  The  sight  of  these  floating 
masses,  which  seemed  to  be  racing  together,  was  indeed  mag- 
nificent. 

The  doctor  was  wild  with  enthusiasm  about  it,  when  Simpson, 
the  harpooner,  came  up  to  him  and  asked  him  to  notice  the  chan- 
ging tints  of  the  sea,  which  varied  from  deep  blue  to  olive  green ; 
long  bands  ran  from  north  to  south  with  edges  so  sharply  cut 
that  the  line  of  division  could  be  seen  as  far  as  the  horizon. 
Sometimes  a  transparent  sheet  would  stretch  out  from  an  opaque 
one. 

"Well,  Dr.  Clawbonny,  what  do  you  think  of  that]"  said 
Simpson. 

"  I  agree,  my  friend,  with  what  Scoresby  said  about  these 
differently  colored  waters,"  answered  the  doctor,  "namely,  tliat 
the  blue  water  does  not  contain  the  millions  of  animalcules 
and  medusae  which  the  green  water  contains;    he  made  a  great 


136 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


many  experiments  to  test   it,    and   I   am   ready  to   agree    with 
him." 

"  0,  but  there  's  something  else  it  shows  !  " 
"  What  is  that  % " 

"  Well,  if  the  Forward  were  only  a  w^haler,  I  believe  we  should 
have  some  sport." 

"  But,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  I 
don't  see  any  whales." 

*'  We  shall  very  soon,  though,  I 
promise  you.  It 's  great  luck  for  a 
whaler  to  see  those  green  patches  in 
these  latitudes." 

"Why  sol"  asked  the  doctor,  whose 
curiosity  was  aroused  by  these  remarks 
of  a  man  who  had  had  experience  in 
what  he  w^as  talking  about. 

"  Because,"  answered  Simpson,  "  it 
is  in  that  green  water  that  most  of  the 
whales  are  caught." 

"  What  is  the  reason,  Simpson  % " 
"Because  they  get  more  food  there." 
"  You  are  sure  of  that  % " 

"  0,  I  have  seen  it  a  hundred  times  in  Baffin's  Bay  !    I  don't  see 
why  the  same  should  n't  be  the  case  in  Melville  Bay." 
"  You  must  be  right,  Simpson." 

"  And  see,"  Simpson  continued  as  he  leaned  over  the  rail,  — 
"see  there.  Doctor." 

"  One  would  say  it  was  the  track  of  a  ship." 
"  Well,"  said  Simpson,  "  it 's  an  oily  substance  that  the  whale 
leaves  behind  it.     Really,  the  whale  itself  can't  be  far  off." 

In  fact,  the  atmosphere  was  filled  wath  a  strong  fishy  smell. 
The  doctor  began  to  examine  the  surface  of  the  sea,  and  the  har- 
pooner's  prediction  was  soon  verified.  Foker  w^as  heard  shouting 
from  aloft,  — 

"  A  whale  to  leeward  !  " 

All  turned  their  eyes  in  that  direction ;  a  low  spout  was  seen 
rising  from  the  sea  about  a  mile  from  the  brig. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


137 


"  There  she  spouts  !  "  shouted  Simpson,  whose  experienced  eye 
soon  detected  it. 

"  It 's  gone,"  said  the  doctor. 

"  We  could  soon  find  it  again,  if  it  were  necessary,"  said  Simp- 
son, regretfully. 

But  to  his  great 
surprise,  although 
no  one  had  dared 
to  ask  it,  Hatteras 
gave  the  order  to 
lower  and  man  the 
whale-boat ;  he  was 
glad  to  give  the 
men  some  distrac- 
tion, and  also  to  get 
a  few  barrels  of  oil. 
They  heard  the  or- 
der with  great  satisfaction. 

Four  sailors  took  their  places  in  the  whale-boat ;  Johnson  took 
the  helm ;  Simpson  stood  in  the  bow,  harpoon  in  hand.  The 
doctor  insisted  on  joining  the  party.  The  sea  was  quite  smooth. 
The  whale-boat  went  very  fast,  and  in  about  ten  minutes  she  was 
a  mile  from  the  brig. 

The  whale,  having  taken  another  breath,  had  dived  again  ;  but 
soon  it  came  up  and  projected  fifteen  feet  into  the  air  that  com- 
bination of  gases  and  mucous  fluid  which  escapes  from  its  vent- 
holes. 

"  There,  there  !  "  cried  Simpson,  pointing  to  a  place  about  eight 
hundred  yards  from  the  boat. 

They  approached  it  rapidly ;  and  the  brig,  having  also  seen  it, 
drew  near  slowly. 

The  huge  monster  kept  appearing  above  the  waves,  showing  its 
black  back,  which  resembled  a  great  rock  in  the  sea;  a  whale 
never  swims  rapidly  unless  pursued,  and  this  one  w^as  letting 
itself  be  rocked  by  the  weaves. 

The  hunters  approached  in  silence,  choosing  the  green  water, 
which  was  so  opaque  as  to  prevent  the  whale  from  seeing  them. 


138  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

It  is  always  exciting  to  watch  a  frail  boat  attacking  one  of  these 
monsters;  this  one  was  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet  long, 
and  often  between  latitude  72°  and  80°  whales  are  found  more 
than  one  himdred  and  twenty-four  feet  long  ;  ancient  writers  have 
often  spoken  of  some  longer  than  seven  hundred  feet,  but  they 
are  imaginary  animals. 

Soon  the  boat  was  very  near  the  whale.  Simpson  made  a  sign, 
the  men  stopped  rowing,  and,  brandishing  his  harpoon,  he  hurled  it 
skilfully ;  this,  with  sharp  barbs,  sank  into  the  thick  layers  of  fat. 
The  wounded  whale  dived  rapidly.  At  once  the  four  oars  were 
unshipped ;  the  rope  which  w^as  attached  to  the  harpoon  ran  out 
rapidly,  and  the  boat  was  dragged  along  while  Johnson  steered  it 

skilfully. 

The  whale  swam  away  from  the  brig  and  hastened  towards  the 
moving  icebergs ;  for  half  an  hour  it  went  on  in  this  way ;  the 
cord  had  to  be  kept  wet  to  prevent  its  taking  fire  from  friction. 
When  the  animal  seemed  to  go  more  slowly,  the  rope  was  dragged 
back  and  carefully  coiled ;  the  whale  rose  again  to  the  surface, 
lashing  violently  with  its  tail ;  huge  spouts  of  water  were  dashed 
up  by  it  and  fell  in  torrents  on  the  boat,  which  now  approached 
rapidly  ;  Simpson  had  taken  a  long  lance  and  was  prepared  to 
meet  the  whale  face  to  face. 

But  it  plunged  rapidly  into  a  pass  between  two  icebergs.  Fur- 
ther pursuit  seemed  dangerous. 

"  The  devil ! "  said  Johnson. 

"  Forward,  forward,  my  friends,"  shouted  Simpson,  eager  for 
the  chase;  "the  whale  is  ours." 

"  But  we  can't  follow  it  among  the  icebergs,"  answered  John- 
son, turning  the  boat  away. 

*'  Yes,  yes  ! "  cried  Simpson. 

"  No,  no  !  "  said  some  of  the  sailors. 

'•'  Yes  !  "  cried  others. 

During  this  discussion  the  M'hale  had  got  between  two  icebergs 
which  the  wind  and  waves  were  driving  together. 

The  whale-boat  was  in  danger  of  being  dragged  into  this  dan- 
gerous pass,  w^hen  Johnson  sprang  forward,  axe  in  hand,  and  eut 
the  line. 


"  The  wliale  swam  away  from  the  brig  and  hastened  towards  the  moving  ice- 
bergs." —  Page  138. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  139 

It  was  time ;  the  two  icebergs  met  with  irresistible  force, 
crushing  the  whale  between  them. 

"  Lost !  "  cried  Simpson. 

"  Saved  1 "  said  Johnson. 

"  Upon  my  word,"  said  the  doctor,  who  had  not  flinched,  "  that 
was  well  worth  seeing  !  " 

The  crushing  power  of  these  mountains  is  enormous.  The 
whale  was  the  victim  of  an  accident  that  is  very  frequent  in  these 
waters.  Scoresby  tells  us  that  in  the  course  of  a  single  summer 
thirty  whalers  have  been  lost  in  this  way  in  Baffin's  Bay ;  he  saw 
a  three-master  crushed  in  one  minute  betw^een  two  walls  of  ice, 
which  drew  together  with  fearful  rapidity  and  sank  the  ship  with 
all  on  board.  Two  other  ships  he  himself  saw  cut  through,  as  if 
by  a  long  lance,  by  huge  pieces  of  ice  more  than  a  hundred  feet 
long. 

A  few  moments  later  the  whale-boat  returned  to  the  brig,  and 
was  hauled  up  to  its  usual  place  on  deck. 

"  That 's  a  lesson,"  said  Shandon,  aloud,  "  for  those  who  are 
foolhardy  enough  to  venture  into  the  passes ! " 


CHAPTER    XX. 

BEECHEY   ISLAND. 

June  25th  the  Forward  sighted  Cape  Dundas,  at  the  north- 
west extremity  of  Prince  of  Wales  Land.  There  they  found  more 
serious  difficulties  amid  thicker  ice.  The  channel  here  grows  nar- 
rower, and  the  line  of  Crozier,  Young,  Day,  and  Lowther  Islands 
ranged  in  a  line,  like  forts  in  a  harbor,  drive  the  ice-streams 
nearer  together.  What  would  ptherwise  have  taken  the  brig  a 
day  now  detained  her  from  June  25th  to  the  end  of  the  month ; 
she  was  continually  obliged  to  stop,  to  retreat,  and  to  wait 
for  a  favorable  chance  to  reach  Beechey  Island.  Meanwhile  a 
great  deal  of  coal  was  consumed ;    though  during  the  frequent 


140  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

halts  only  small  fires  were  kept  burning,  sufficient  to  keep  steam 
up  day  and  night. 

Hatteras  knew  as  wen  as  Shandon  the  reduced  state  of  their 
supply;  but  feeling  sure  that  he  would  find  fuel  at  Beechey 
Island,  he  did  not  wish  to  lose  a  minute  for  the  sake  of  economy ; 
he  had  been  very  much  delayed  by  running  south ;  and,  although 
he  had  taken  the  precaution  of  leaving  England  in  April,  he  now 
found  himself  no  farther  advanced  than  previous  expeditions  had 
been  at  that  time  of  year. 

The  30th  they  passed  Cape  Walker  at  the  northeast  extremity 
of  Prince  of  Wales  Land ;  this  is  the  farthest  point  seen  by  Ken- 
nedy and  Bellot,  May  3d,  1852,  after  an  expedition  across  North 
Somerset.  In  1851,  Captain  Ommaney  of  the  Austin  expedition 
had  been  fortunate  enough  to  get  fresh  supplies  there  for  his 
detachment. 


This  cape,  which  is  very  lofty,  is  remarkable  for  its  reddish- 
brown  color ;  in  clear  weather  ox\q  can  see  as  far  as  the  entrance 
of  Wellington  Channel.  Towards  evening  they  saw  Cape  Bellot, 
separated  from  Cape  Walker  by  MacLeon's  Bay.  Cape  Bellot 
was  so  named  in  presence  of  that  young  French  officer  to  whom 
the  English  expedition  gave  three  cheers.     At  this  place  the  coast 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  141 

consists  of  a  yellowish  limestone,  very  rough  in  appearance ;  it 
is  protected  by  huge  masses  of  ice  which  the  north-wind  col- 
lects there  in  the  most  imposing  way.  It  w^as  soon  no  longer 
to  be  seen  from  the  ForwardCs  deck,  as  she  was  making  her 
way  amid  the  loose  ice  towards  Beechey  Island  through  Barrow 
Strait. 

Hatteras,  having  resolved  to  go  on  in  a  straight  line,  in  order 
not  to  be  carried  past  the  island,  hardly  left  the  deck  during  the 
subsequent  days ;  he  would  go  aloft  to  the  cross-trees  in  order  to 
pick  out  the  most  favorable  path  for  the  brig.  All  that  skill,  cool- 
ness, boldness,  and  even  maritime  genius  could  do,  was  done  by 
him  while  sailing  through  the  strait.  It  is  true  that  fortune  did 
not  favor  him,  for  at  that  season  he  ought  to  have  found  the  sea 
nearly  open.  But  by  dint  of  sparing  neither  steam,  his  men,  nor 
himself,  he  succeeded  in  his  aim. 

July  3d,  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  ice-master  saw 
land  to  the  north ;  Hatteras  soon  made  it  out  as  Beechey  Island, 
the  general  rendezvous  for  arctic  explorers.  Almost  all  the  ships 
which  sail  in  these  latitudes  touch  here.  Here  Franklin  passed 
his  first  winter  before  advancing  into  Wellington  Channel. 
Here  Creswell,  MacClure's  lieutenant,  after  a  march  of  four  hun- 
dred and  sixty  miles  on  the  ice,  rejoined  the  Phcenix  and  returned 
to  England.  The  last  ship  which  anchored  at  Beechey  Island 
before  the  Forward  was  the  Fox ;  MacClintock  took  in  supplies 
there,  August  11,  1855,  and  repaired  the  dwellings  and  store- 
houses ;  that  was  but  a  short  time  previous.  Hatteras  knew  all 
these  details. 

The  boatswain's  heart  beat  strongly  at  the  sight  of  this  island ; 
when  he  had  last  seen  it  he  had  been  quartermaster  on  the  PhoR- 
nix ;  Hatteras  asked  him  about  the  coast,  the  place  for  anchor- 
ing, the  possible  change  of  the  bottom.  The  weather  was  per- 
fect ;  the  thermometer  marked  57°. 

"  Wei],  Johnson,"  said  the  captain,  "  do  you  recognize  this 
place "? " 

"  Yes,  Captain,  it  's  Beechey  Island !  Only  we  ought  to 
bear  a  little  farther  north ;  the  coast  is  more  easily  approached 
there." 


142  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"  But  the  buildings,  the  stores  ? "  said  Hatteras. 

"  0,  you  can't  see  them  till  you  get  ashore ;  they  are  hidden 
behind  those  hillocks  you  see  there  ! " 

"  And  did  you  carry  large  supplies  there  % " 

''Yes,  they  were  large.  The  Admiralty  sent  us  here  in 
1853,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Inglefield,  with  the 
steamer  Phoenix  and  a  transport,  the  Breadalhane,  loaded 
with  supplies;  we  carried  enough  to  revictual  a  whole  expedi- 
tion." 

"  But  did  not  the  commander  of  the  Fox  take  a  great  deal 
away  in  1855"?"  said  Hatteras. 

"  0,  don't  be  anxious,  Captain  !  "  answered  Johnson ;  "  there 
will  be  enough  left  for  you ;  the  cold  keeps  everything  wonder- 
fully, and  we  shall  find  everything  as  fresh  and  in  as  good  condi- 
tion as  on  the  first  day." 

"  I  'm  not  so  anxious  about  the  provisions,"  answered  Hatteras ; 
"  I  have  enough  for  several  years ;  what  I  stand  in  need  of  is 
coal." 

"  Well,  Captain,  we  left  more  than  a  thousand  tons  there  ',  so 
you  can  feel  easy  about  that." 

"  Let  us  stand  nearer,"  resumed  Hatteras,  who,  glass  in  hand, 
kept  examining  the  shore. 

"  You  see  that  point,"  said  Johnson  ;  "  when  we  've  doubled  it, 
we  shall  be  near  our  anchorage.  Yes,  it 's  from  there  we  started 
for  England  with  Lieutenant  Creswell  and  twelve  sick  men  of  the 
Investigator.  But  if  we  were  fortunate  enough  to  be  of  service  to 
Captain  MacClure's  lieutenant,  Bellot,  the  ofiicer  who  accompa- 
nied us  on  the  Phoenix,  never  saw  his  home  again  !  Ah,  that 's 
a  sad  memory !  But,  Captain,  I  think  it 's  here  we  ought  to 
anchor." 

"Very  well,"  answered  Hatteras. 

And  he  gave  the  proper  orders.  The  Forward  lay  in  a  little 
harbor  sheltered  from  the  north,  east,  and  south  winds,  about  a 
cable-length  from  the  shore. 

"Mr.  Wall,"  said  Hatteras,  "you  will  lower  the  launch  and 
send  six  men  to  bring  coal  aboard." 

"Yes,  sir,"  answered  Wall. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


143 


"  I  am  going  ashore  in  the  gig  with  the  doctor  and  the  boat- 
swain ;  Mr.  Shandon,  will  you  go  with  us  1 " 

"  At  your  orders,"  answered  Shandon. 

A  few  minutes  later  the  doctor,  with  gun  and  baskets  for  any 
specimens  he  might  find,  took  his  place  in  the  gig  with  his  com- 
panions; ten  minutes  later  they  stepped  out  on  a  low,  rocky 
shore. 

"Lead  the  way,  Johnson,"  said  Hatteras;  "do  you  remem- 
ber itl" 

"  Perfectly,  Captain  ;  only  here  is  a  monument  which  I  did  not 
expect  to  find  here." 

"  That,"  shouted  the  doctor,  "  I  know  what  it  is  ;  let 's  go  look 
at  it ;  it  will  tell  us  of  itself  why  it  was  put  here." 

The  four  men  went  up  to  it,  and  the  doctor,  baring  his  head, 
said,  — 

"This,  my  friends,  is  a  monument  raised  to  the  memory  of 
Franklin  and  his  companions." 


In  fact,  Lady  Franklin  having,  in  1855,  sent  a  tablet  of  black 
marble  to  Dr.  Kane,  gave  another  in  1858  to  MacClintock  to  be 
placed  on  Beechey  Island.  MacClintock  discharged  his  duty,  and 
placed  this  tablet  near  a  funeral  pile  raised  to  the  memory  of  Bel- 
lot  by  Sir  John  Barrow. 


144  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTEEAS. 

This  tablet  bore  the  following  inscription  :  — 

TO    THE    MEMORY    OF 

FRANKLIN,    CROZIER,    FITZ-JAMES, 

AND  ALL  THEIR   GALLANT   BROTHER  OFFICERS  AND   FAITHFUL   COMPANIONS 

Who  have  suffered  and  perished 

in  the  cause  of  science  and  the  service  of  their  country. 

THIS    TABLET 

Is  erected  near  the  spot  where  they  passed  their  first  arctic  Winter, 

and  whence  they  issued  forth  to  con(.j[uer  difficulties  or 

TO    DIE. 

It  commemorates  the  grief  of  their  Admiring  Countrymen  and  Friends, 

and  the  anguish,  subdued  by  Faith, 

of  her  who  has  lost,  in  the  heroic  Leader  of  the  Expedition,  the  Most  Devoted 

and  Affectionate  of  Husbands. 


"  And  so  he  bringeth  them  unto  the  Haven  where  they  would  he." 
1855. 

This  stone,  on  a  lonely  shore  of  these  remote  regions,  tonched 
every  one's  heart ;  the  doctor  felt  the  tears  rising  in  his  eyes. 
On  the  very  spot  whence  Franklin  and  his  men  sailed,  full  of  hope 
and  strength,  there  was  now  merely  a  slab  of  marble  to  commem- 
orate them ;  and  in  spite  of  this  solemn  warning  of  fate,  the  For- 
ward was  about  to  follow  the  path  of  the  Erebus  and  Terror. 

Hatteras  was  the  first  to  rouse  himself;  he  ascended  quickly  a 
rather  high  hillock,  which  was  almost  entirely  bare  of  snow. 

"  Captain,"  said  Johnson,  following  him,  "  from  there  we  ought 
to  see  the  stores." 

Shandon  and  the  doctor  joined  them  just  as  they  reached  the 
top  of  the  hill. 

But  their  eyes  saw  nothing  but  large  plains  with  no  trace  of  a 
building. 

"  This  is  very  strange,"  said  the  boatswain. 

"Well,  these  stores'?"  said  Hatteras,  quickly. 

"  I  don't  know,  —  I  don't  see  —  "  stammered  Johnson. 

"  You  must  have  mistaken  the  path,"  said  the  doctor. 

"  Still  it  seems  to  me,"  resumed  Johnson  after  a  moment's  re- 
flection, "  that  at  this  very  spot  —  " 

"Well,"  said  Hatteras,  impatiently,  "where  shall  we  go?" 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  145 

"Let's  go  down  again,"  said  the  boatswain,  "for  it's  possible 
I  've  lost  my  way  !  In  seven  years  I  may  have  forgotten  the 
place." 

"  Especially,"  said  the  doctor,  "  when  the  country  is  so  monot- 
onous." 

"And  yet  —  "  muttered  Johnson. 

Shandon  said  not  a  word.  After  walking  a  few  minutes,  John- 
son stopped. 

"  No,"  he  said,  "  I  'm  not  mistaken." 

"  Well,"  said  Hatteras,  looking  around. 

"  What  makes  you  say  so,  Johnson  1 "  asked  the  doctor. 

"  Do  you  see  this  little  rise  in  the  earth  ? "  asked  the  boatswain, 
pointing  downwards  to  a  mound  in  which  three  elevations  could 
be  clearly  seen. 

"What  does  that  meani"  asked  the  doctor. 

"  There,"  answered  Johnson,  "  are  the  three  tombs  of  Frank- 
lin's sailors.  I  'ra  sure  of  it !  I  'm  not  mistaken,  and  the  stores 
must  be  wdthin  a  hundred  paces  of  us,  and  if  they  're  not  there,  — 
it 's  because  ■ —  " 

He  durst  not  finish  his  sentence;  Hatteras  ran  forward,  and 
terrible  despair  seized  him.  There  ought  to  stand  those  much- 
needed  storehouses,  with  supplies  of  all  sorts  on  which  he  had 
been  counting ;  but  ruin,  pillage,  and  destruction  had  passed  over 
that  place  where  civilized  hands  had  accumulated  resources  for 
battered  sailors.  Who  had  committed  these  depredations  1  Wild 
animals,  w^olves,  foxes,  bears  1  No,  for  they  would  have  destroyed 
only  the  provisions ;  and  there  was  left  no  shred  of  a  tent,  not  a 
piece  of  wood,  not  a  scrap  of  iron,  no  bit  of  any  metal,  nor  —  what 
was  more  serious  for  the  men  of  the  Forward  —  a  single  lump  of 
coal. 

Evidently  the  Esquimaux,  w^ho  have  often  had  much  to  do 
with  European  ships,  had  finally  learned  the  value  of  these  ob- 
jects ;  since  the  visit  of  the  Fox  they  had  come  frequently  to  this 
great  storehouse,  and  had  pillaged  incessantly,  with  the  intention 
of  leaving  no  trace  of  what  had  been  there ;  and  now  a  long  drift 
of  half-melted  snow  covered  the  ground. 

Hatteras  was  baffled.  The  doctor  gazed  and  shook  his  head. 
7  J 


146 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


Shandon  said  nothing,   but   an   attentive  observer  would  have 
noticed  a  wicked  smile  about  his  lips. 

At  this  moment  the  men  sent  by  Wall  arrived.  They  took 
it  all  in  at  a  glance.  Shandon  went  up  to  the  captain  and 
said,  — 

''Mr.  Hatteras,  we  need  not  despair ;  fortunately  we  are  near 
the  entrance  to  Barrow  Strait,  which  will  carry  us  back  to  Baffin's 
Bay." 

"Mr.  Shandon,"  answered  Hatteras,  " we  are  fortunately  near 
the  entrance  of  Wellington  Channel,  and  it  will  lead  us  to  the 
north." 

"And  how  shall  we  go,  Captain]" 

"  Under  sail,  sir.     We  have  two"  months'  fuel  left,  and  that  is 
more  than  we  shall  need  for  next  winter." 
"  Permit  me  to  say,"  began  Shandon. 

"  I  permit  you  to  follow  me  to  the  ship,  sir,"  was  Hatteras's 
answer. 

And  turning  his  back  on  his  first  officer,  he  returned  to  the 

brig   and   locked    himself  in   his 
cabin. 

For  two  days  the  wind  was 
unfavorable ;  the  captain  did 
not  come  on  deck.  The  doctor 
profited  by  this  forced  delay  to 
examine  Beechey  Island ;  he 
collected  a  few  plants  which  a 
comparatively  high,  temperature 
let  grow  here  and  there  on  some 
rocks  which  projected  from  the 
snow,  such  as  heather,  a  few  li- 
chens, a  sort  of  yellow  ranunculus, 
a  plant  like  sorrel  with  leaves  a 
trifle  larger,  and  some  sturdy 
saxifrages. 
The  fauna  of  this  country  was  much  richer ;  the  doctor  saw 
large  flocks  of  geese  and  cranes  flying  northward  ;  partridges, 
eider-ducks,   northern    divers,   numerous  ptarmigans,   which   are 


J  ,a/^i7/r    _ 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


147 


delicious  eating,  noisy  flocks  of  kittiwakes,  and  great  white-bellied 
loons  represented  the  winged  tribe.  The  doctor  was  lucky 
enough  to  kill  some  gray  hares,  which  had  not  yet  put  on  their 
white  winter  coat  of  fur,  and  a  blue  fox,  which  Duke  skilfully 
caught.  A  few  bears,  evidently  accustomed  to  fear  men,  could 
not  be  approached,  and  the  seals  were  very  timid,  probably  for 


the  same  reason.  The  harbor  was  full  of  a  very  good  tasting  shell- 
fish. The  genus  articulata,  order  dixjtera^  family  culicides,  division 
nemocera,  was  represented  by  a  simple  mosquito,  a  single  one, 
which  the  doctor,  though  much  bitten,  had  the  pleasure  of  catch- 
ing. As  a  conchologist,  he  was  less  fortunate,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  content  himself  with  a  sort  of  mnssel  and  some  bivalves. 


CHAPTER    XXI 


THE    DEATH    OF    BELLOT. 

The  temperature  remained  at  57°  during  July  3d  and  4th ; 
this  was  the  highest  temperature  observed.  But  on  Thursday, 
the  5th,  the  wind  shifted  to  the  southeast,  with  violent  snow- 
squalls.  The  thermometer  fell  twenty-three  degrees  in  the  pre- 
ceding night.  Hatteras,  indifferent  to  the  hostility  of  the  crew, 
gave  the  order  to  set  sail.  For  thirteen  days,  ever  since  passing 
Cape  Dundas,  the  Forivard  had  not  gone  a  single  degree  farther 
north  ;  hence  the  party  represented  by  Clifton  was  dissatisfied ; 
their  wishes,   it    is  true,   coincided   with   those  of  the  captain, 


148  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

namely,  that  they  should  make  their  way  through  Wellington 
Channel,  and  they  were  all  glad  to  be  off  once  more. 

It  was  with  difficulty  that  sail  was  set;  but  having  in  the 
course  of  the  night  run  up  the  mainsail  and  topsails,  Hatteras 
plunged  boldly  into  the  ice,  which  the  current  was  driving  towards 
the  south.  The  crew  became  very  tired  of  this  tortuous  naviga- 
tion, which  kept  them  very  busy  with  the  sails. 

Wellington  Channel  is  not  very  broad ;  it  lies  between  North 
Devon  on  the  east  and  Cornwallis  Island  on  the  west ;  for  a  long 
time  this  island  was  considered  a  peninsula.  It  was  Sir  John 
Franklin  who  circumnavigated  it,  in  1846,  from  the  western  side, 
going  about  its  northern  coast. 

The  exploration  of  Wellington  Channel  was  made  in  1851,  by 
Captain  Penny,  in  the  whale-ships  Lady  Franklin  and  So^oliia  ;  one 
of  his  lieutenants,  Stewart,  who  reached  Cape  Beechey,  latitude 
76°  20',  discovered  the  open  sea.  The  open  sea  !  It  was  for  that 
Hatteras  longed. 

"What  Stewart  found,  I  shall  find,"  he  said  to  the  doctor; 
"  and  I  shall  be  able  to  get  to  the  Pole  under  sail." 

"But,"  answered  the  doctor,  "don't  you  fear  lest  the  crew  —  " 

"  The  crew  !  "  said  Hatteras,  coldly. 

Then  in  a  lower  tone  he  murmured,  — 

"  Poor  men  !  "  much  to  the  doctor's  surprise. 

It  was  the  first  sentiment  of  this  sort  which  he  had  ever  no- 
ticed in  the  captain. 

"  No,"  he  went  on  warmly,  "  they  must  follow  me,  and  they 
shall." 

Still,  if  the  Forward  need  not  fear  collision  with  the  ice- 
streams,  she  made  but  little  way  northward,  being  much  delayed 
by  contrary  winds.  With  some  difficulty  they  got  by  Capes 
Spencer  and  Innis,  and  Tuesday,  the  10th,  latitude  75°  was  at 
last  reached,  much  to  Clifton's  joy. 

The  Forivard  was  now  at  the  very  spot  where  the  American 
ships,  the  Rescue  and  the  Advance,  commanded  by  Captain  Haven, 
ran  such  terrible  dangers.  Dr.  Kane  accompanied  this  expedition  ; 
towards  the  end  of  September,  1850,  these  ships  were  caught  in 
the  ice,  and  carried  with  irresistible  force  into  Lancaster  Sound. 


The  Foiivard'\n  Wellington  Channel."  — Page  148. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  I49 

Shandon  told  James  Wall  about  it  in  the  presence  of  some  of 
the  men. 

"  The  Advance  and  the  Rescue,''  he  said,  "  were  so  tossed  about 
by  ice,  that  they  could  keep  no  fires  on  board ;  and  yet  the  ther- 
mometer stood  at  18°  below  zero.  During  the  whole  winter  the 
crews  were  kept  imprisoned,  ready  to  abandon  their  ships,  and 
for  three  weeks  they  did  not  take  off  their  clothes !  It  was 
a  terrible  situation ;  after  drifting  a  thousand  miles,  they  were 
driven  to  the  middle  of  Baffin's  Bay  ! " 

One  may  easily  judge  of  the  effect  of  such  a  narration  on  a 
crew  already  discontented. 

While  this  conversation  was  going  on,  Johnson  w^as  talking 
with  the  doctor  about  an  event  which  had  taken  place  here  ;  the 
doctor,  at  his  request,  told  him  the  exact  moment  when  the  brig 
reached  latitude  75°  30'. 

"  There  it  is !  there  it  is ! "  said  Johnson,  "  there  is  that  un- 
lucky land  !  " 

And  so  speaking,  tears  came  into  the  boatswain's  eyes. 

"  You  mean  Lieutenant  Bellot's  death,"  said  the  doctor. 

"Yes,  sir,  of  that  brave,  good  man  ! " 

"  And  it  was  here,  you  say,  that  it  took  place  1 " 

"  Just  here,  on  this  part  of  the  coast  of  North  Devon.  It  was 
very  great  ill-luck,  and  this  would  not  have  happened  if  Captain 
Pullen  had  come  on  board  sooner." 

"  What  do  you  mean,  Johnson  1 " 

**  Listen,  Doctor,  and  you  will  see  by  how  slight  a  thread  life 
is  held.  You  know  that  Lieutenant  Bellot  had  already  made  an 
expedition  in  search  of  Franklin,  in  18  OT' 

"  Yes ;  in  the  Prince  Albert,^' 

"  Well,  in  1853,  having  returned  to  France,  he  got  permission 
to  sail  in  the  PhoBnix,  in  which  I  was  a  sailor,  under  Captain 
Ingleficld.  We  came  with  the  Breadalhane  to  carry  supplies  to 
Beechey  Island." 

"  Those  which  we  did  not  find  ! " 

"Exactly,  Doctor.  We  arrived  at  Beechey  Island  at  the  be- 
ginning of  August ;  the  10th  of  that  month,  Captain  Inglefield 
left  the  Phoenix  to  rejoin  Captain  Pullen,  who  had  been  away  for  a 


150  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT  TEE  AS. 

month  from  his  ship,  the  North  Star.  He  intended  on  his  return 
to  send  the  Admiralty  despatches  to  Sir  Edward  Belcher,  who 
was  wintering  in  AVellington  Channel.  Now,  shortly  after  our 
captain's  departure,  Captain  Pullen  reached  his  ship.  If  he  had 
only  come  back  before  Captain  Inglefield  had  left !  Lieutenant 
Bellot,  fearing  that  our  captain's  absence  might  be  a  long  one, 
and  knowing  that  the  Admiralty  despatches  w^ere  important, 
offered  to  carry  them  himself.  He  left  the  two  shijjs  under 
Captain  Pullen's  charge,  and  left  August  12,  with  a  sledge  and 
an  india-rubber  canoe.  He  took  with  him  Harvey,  quartermaster 
of  the  North  Star,  and  three  sailors.  Madden,  David  Hook,  and 
me.  We  thought  that  Sir  Edward  Belcher  would  be  somewhere 
near  Cape  Beecher,  at  the  northern  part  of  the  channel;  hence 
we  made  for  that  part  in  our  sledge,  keeping  on  the  east  bank. 
The  first  day  we  encamped  three  miles  from  Cape  Innis ;  the  next 
day  we  stopped  on  the  ice  nearly  three  miles  from  Cape  Bowden. 
During  the  night,  which  was  as  bright  as  day,  land  being  only 
three  miles  distant,  Lieutenant  Bellot  determined  to  go  and  camp 
there ;  he  tried  to  reach  it  in  the  canoe  ;  a  violent  southeast 
breeze  drove  him  back  twice  ;  Harvey  and  Madden  tried  in  their 
turn,  and  with  success ;  they  carried  a  rope,  and  with  it  they 
established  communication  with  the  shore  ;  three  objects  were 
carried  across  by  it ;  but  at  the  fourth  attempt,  we  felt  the  ice 
moving  away  from  us ;  Mr.  Bellot  shouted  to  his  companions  to 
loosen  the  rope,  and  we  (the  lieutenant,  David  Hook,  and  I)  were 
carried  to  a  great  distance  from  the  shore.  Then  a  strong  south- 
easter was  blowing,  and  snow  was  falling.  But  we  were  not  in  any 
great  danger,  and  he  might  have  been  saved,  since  the  rest  of  us 
were  saved." 

Johnson  stopped  for  a  moment,  and  gazed  at  the  ill-fated  shore, 
then  he  went  on  :  — 

''After  losing  sight  of  our  companions,  we  tried  at  first  to 
shelter  ourselves  under  the  cover  of  our  sledge,  but  in  vain ;  then 
with  our  knives  we  began  to  cut  a  house  in  the  ice.  Mr.  Bellot 
sat  down  for  half  an  hour,  and  talked  with  us  about  the  danger 
of  our  situation  ;  I  told  him  I  was  not  afraid.  *  With  God's  pro- 
tection,' he  said,  '■  not  a  hair  of  our  heads  shall  be  hurt.'     I  then 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  151 

asked  him  what  time  it  was.  He  answered,  *  About  quarter  past 
six.'  It  was  quarter  past  six  in  the  morning  of  Thursd^iy, 
August  18th.  Then  Mr.  Bellot  bound  on  his  books,  and  said  he 
wanted  to  go  and  see  how  the  ice  was  moving ;  he  was  gone  only 
four  minutes,  when  I  went  to  seek  him  behind  the  floe  w^iich 
sheltered  us ;  but  I  did  not  find  him,  and,  returning  to  our  re- 
treat,  I  saw  his  stick  on  the  opposite  side  of  a  crevasse  about 


three  fathoms  wide,  where  the  ice  was  all  broken.  I  shouted,  but 
there  was  no  answer.  At  that  time  the  wind  was  blowing  very 
hard.  I  searched  all  around,  but  I  could  find  no  trace  of  the 
poor  lieutenant." 

"  And  what  do  you  suppose  became  of  him  1 "  asked  the  doctor, 
who  w^as  much  moved  by  this  account. 

"  I  suppose  that  when  he  left  the  shelter,  the  wind  drove  him 
into  the  crevasse,  and  that,  being  thickly  clad,  he  could  not  swim 
to  the  surface.  0  Dr.  Clawbonny,  I  never  felt  worse  in  my 
life !  I  could  not  believe  it  !  That  brave  officer  fell  a  victim  to 
his  sense  of  duty  !  For  you  know  that  it  was  in  order  to  obey 
Captain  Pullen's  instructions  that  he  was  trying  to  reach  the 
land  before  the  ice  began  to  break  !  He  was  a  brave  man,  liked 
by  every  one,  faithful,  courageous  !     All  England  mourned  him, 


152 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


and  even  the  Esquimaux,  when  they  heard  of  his  death  from  Cap- 
tain Inglefield,  when  he  returned  from  Pound  Bay,  did  nothing 
but  weep  and  repeat,  '  Poor  Bellot !    Poor  Bellot  1 '  " 


"But  you  and  your  companions,  Johnson,"  asked  the  doctor, 
much  moved  by  this  touching  account,  —  "  how  did  you  manage 
to  get  to  shore  1 " 

**  0,  it  was  very  simple  !  We  remained  twenty-four  hours  on  the 
ice  without  food  or  fire,  but  finally  we  reached  a  firmly  fastened 
ice-field ;  we  sprang  upon  it,  and  with  an  oar  we  got  near  a  floe 
capable  of  supporting  us,  and  being  controlled  like  a  boat.  In 
that  way  we  reached  the  shore,  but  alone,  without  our  brave 
officer." 

At  the  end  of  this  account  the  Forward  had  passed  by  this 
fatal  shore,  and  Johnson  soon  lost  sight  of  the  scene  of  this  terri- 
ble catastrophe.  The  next  day  they  left  Grifiin's  Bay  on  the  star- 
board, and  two  days  later.  Capes  Grinnell  and  Helpman ;  finally, 
July  14th,  they  doubled  Osborne  Point,  and  the  15th  the  brig 
anchored  in  Baring  Bay  at  the  end  of  the  channel.  The  naviga- 
tion had  not  been  very  difficult ;  Hatteras  found  a  sea  nearly  as 
free  as  that  by  which  Belcher  profited  to  go  and  winter  with  the 
Pioneer  and  Asmtance  in  latitude  77°.     That  was  his  first  winter, 


Hatteras  made  use  of  a  device  which  whalers  employ.  —  Page  153. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  153 

1852-53,  for  the  next  he  spent  in  Baring  Bay,  where  the  For- 
ward now  lay  at  anchor. 

It  was  in  consequence  of  the  most  terrible  dangers  and  trials 
that  he  was  obhged  to  abandon  the  Assistance  in  the  midst  of  the 
etejTial  ice-,  .  i-t    '•  ■  ^ 

Shannon  ^ave  a  Aiil  account  of  this  catastrophe  to  the  demor- 
aUzed  sailors.  Was  Hatteras' aware 'of  the  treachery  of  his  first 
officer  ?  It  is  impossible  to  say,  but,  at  any  rate,  he  said  nothing 
about  it. 

At  the  end  of  Baring  Bay  is  a  narrow  canal  uniting  Welling- 
ton Channel  with  Queen's  Strait.  There  the  ice  had  accumulated 
very  closely.  Hatteras  made  vain  efforts  to  get  through  the  pas- 
sages to  the  north  of  Hamilton  Island;  the  wind  was  unfavor- 
able ;  hence  it  was  necessary  to  go  between  Hamilton  and  Corn- 
wallis  Islands ;  five  precious  days  were  lost  in  vain  attempts. 
The  air  grew  colder,  and,  July  19th,  fell  as  low  as  26°;  the  next 
day  was  warmer,  but  this  harbinger  of  the  arctic  winter  warned 
Hatteras  not  to  linger  longer.  The  wind  seemed  to  blow  steadily 
from  the  west  and  delayed  his  progress.  And  yet  he  was  in 
haste  to  reach  the  point  whence  Stewart  saw^  an  open  sea.  The 
19th  he  resolved  to  enter  the  channel  at  any  price;  the  wind 
blew  dead  against  the  brig,  which,  with  her  screw,  could  have 
made  headway  against  the  violent  snow-squalls,  but  Hatteras  had 
before  all  to  be  economical  with  the  fuel;  on  the  other  hand, 
the  channel  was  too  broad  to  permit  of  the  brig  being  towed. 
Hatteras,  without  taking  into  account  the  fatigue  of  his  crew, 
made  use  of  a  device  which  whalers  often  employ  under  similar 
circumstances.  He  lowered  the  small  boats  to  the  surface  of  the 
water,  not  letting  them  free  from  their  tackle ;  then  they  were 
made  fast,  'fore  and  aft ;  oars  were  put  out,  to  starboard  on  one 
side  and  to  port  on  the  other;  the  men  sat  on  the  thwarts  and 
rowed  vigorously,  so  as  to  propel  the  brig  against  the  wind. 

The  Forward  made  slight  headway;  this  method  of  working 
was  very  fatiguing ;  the  men  began  to  murmur.  For  four  days 
they  advanced  in  that  way,  imtil  July  23d,  when  they  reached 
Baring  Island,  in   Queen's  Channel. 

The  wind  was  still  unfavorable.  The  crew  could  go  no  farther. 
7* 


154         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

The  doctor  found  the  strength  of  the  crew  much  pulled  down, 
and  he  thought  he  detected  the  first  symptoms  of  scurvy ;  he 
used  every  precaution  against  this  terrible  disea^^e,  having  abun- 
dant supplies  of  lime-juice  and  chalk-pastilles. 

Hatteras  soon  saw  there  was  nothing  more  to  be  got  from  his 
crew ;  kindness  and  persuasion  were  fruitless ;  he  resolved  to  em- 
ploy severity,  and,  if  need  be,  to  be  pitiless ;  he  distrusted  espe- 
cially Richard  Shandon,  and  even  James  Wall,  who,  however, 
never  dared  to  speak  too  loud.  Hatteras  had  on  his  side  the 
doctor,  Johnson,  Bell,  and  Simpson ;  these  were  all  devoted  to 
him  body  and  soul.  Among  the  uncertain  were  Foker,  Bolton, 
Wolston,  the  gunner,  Brunton,  the  first  engineer,  who  might  at 
any  moment  declare  against  him.  As  to  the  others.  Pen,  Grip- 
per,  Clifton,  and  Warren,  they  openly  meditated  mutiny ;  they 
wanted  to  bring  their  companions  over  and  compel  the  Forward 
to  return  to  England. 

Hatteras  soon  saw  that  he  could  get  no  more  work  from  his 
dispirited  crew,  who  now  were  worn  out  with  fatigue  from  their 
hard  work.  For  twenty-four  hours  they  remained  in  sight  of 
Baring  Island  without  getting  a  foot  forward.  Still  the  weather 
grew  colder,  and  in  these  high  latitudes  even  July  felt  the  influ- 
ence of  the  approaching  winter.  The  24th,  the  thermometer  fell 
to  22°.  The  young  ice  formed  during  the  night  to  a  depth  of 
about  half  an  inch  ;  if  snow  should  fall  on  it,  it  would  soon  be 
strong  enough  to  bear  the  weight  of  a  man.  The  sea  soon  ac- 
quired the  turbid  tint  which  indicates  the  formation  of  the  first 
crystals. 

Hatteras  read  aright  these  alarming  signs  ;  if  the  passes  should 
close,  he  would  be  obliged  to  winter  here,  far  from  the  aim  of  his 
voyage,  and  without  even  having  seen  that  open  sea  which  he 
must  have  got  very  near,  according  to  the  accounts  of  his  prede- 
cessors. Hence  he  resolved  to  get  on  at  any  price  a  few  degrees 
farther  north ;  seeing  that  he  could  neither  try  rowing  with  his 
crew  exhausted,  nor  going  under  sail  with  the  wind  always  unfa- 
vorable, he  ordered  the  fires  to  be  lighted. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE,  155 


CHAPTER    XXII.  * 

THE    FIRST    SIGNS    OF    MUTINY. 

At  this  unexpected  command,  the  surprise  on  board  of  the  For- 
ward was  very  great. 

"  Light  the  fires  !  "  said  some. 

"With  whatr'  said  others. 

"  When  we  have  only  two  months'  supply  in  the  hold  !  "  cried 
Pen. 

*'  And  how  are  we  to  keep  warm  in  the  winter  % "  asked  Clifton. 

"  We  shall  have  to  burn  the  ship  down  to  the  water-line,  I  sup- 
pose," said  Gripper. 

"And  cram  all  the  masts  into  the  stove,''  answered  Warren, 
"from  the  foretopmast  to  the  jib-boom." 

Shandon  gazed  intently  at  Wall.  The  surprised  engineers  hesi- 
tated to  go  down  into  the  engine-room. 

"  Did  you  hear  what  I  said  1 "  shouted  the  captain,  angrily. 

Brunton  walked  toward  the  hatchway ;  but  he  stopped  before 
going  down. 

"  Don't  go,  Brunton,"  some  one  said. 

"  Who  spoke  then  % "  shouted  Hatteras. 

"  I  did,"  said  Pen,  approaching  the  captain. 

"And  what  is  it  you  're  saying?"  asked  the  captain. 

" I  say  —  I  say,"  answered  Pen  with  many  oaths,  —  "I  say  that 
we  have  had  enough  of  this,  that  we  are  not  going  any  farther, 
that  we  don't  want  to  wear  ourselves  out  with  fatigue  and  cold 
during  the  winter,  and  that  the  fires  shall  not  be  lighted." 

"  Mr.  Shandon,"  answered  Hatteras,  coldly,  "  have  this  man  put 
in  irons." 

"  But,  Captain,"  said  Shandon,  "  what  this  man  said  —  " 

"  If  you  repeat  what  this  man  said,"  retorted  Hatteras,  "  I 
shall  order  you  to  your  cabin  and  confine  you  there.  Seize  that 
man  !     Do  you  hear  1 " 


156 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


Johnson,  Bell,  and  Simpson  stepped  towards  the  sailor,  who 
was  beside  himself  with  wrath. 

"  The  first  man  who  lays  a  finger  on  me  —  "  he  cried,  seizing 
a  handspike,  which  he  flourished  about  his  head. 

Hatteras  walked  towards  him. 

"  Pen,"  he  said  very  quietly,  "  if  you  move  hand  or  foot,  I  shall 
blow  your  brains  out !  " 


With  these  words  he  drew  a  revolver  and  aimed  it  at  the 
sailor. 

A  murmur  arose  from  the  crew. 

"  Not  a  word  from  any  of  you,"  said  Hatteras,  "  or  he  's  a  dead 
man." 

At  that  moment  Johnson  and  Bell  disarmed  Pen,  who  no 
longer  resisted,  and  suffered  himself  to  be  led  to  the  bottom  of 
the  hold. 

"  Now  go  below,  Brunton,"  said  Hatteras. 

The  engineer,  followed  by  Plover  and  Warren,  went  below. 
Hatteras  returned  to  the  quarter-deck. 

"  That  Pen  is  a  worthless  fellow,"  the  doctor  said  to  him. 

"  No  man  was  ever  nearer  death,"  answered  the  captain,  simply. 

Soon  there  was  enough  steam  on ;  the  anchors  of  the  Forward 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE, 


157 


were  raised ;    and  the  brig  started  eastward,  heading  for  Point 
Beecher,  and  cutting  through  the  newly  formed  ice. 

A  great  number  of  islands  lie  between  Baring  Island  and  Point 
Beecher,  scattered  in  the  midst  of  the  ice-fields ;  the  ice-streams 
crowd  in  great  numbers  in  the  little  straits  into  which  they  divide 
the  sea ;  when  the  weather  is  cold  they  have  a  tendency  to  accu- 
mulate :  here  and  there  hummocks  were  forming,  and  it  was  easy 
to  see  that  the  floes,  already  harder  and  more  crowded,  would, 
under  the  influence  of  the  first  frosts,  soon  form  an  impenetrable 


It  was  with  gi-eat  difficulty  that  the  Forward  made  her  way 
through  the  whirling  snow.  Still,  with  the  variability  which  is  a 
peculiarity  of  these  regions,  the  sun  would  appear  from  time  to 
time ;  the  air  grew  much  milder ;  the  ice  melted  as  if  by  en- 
chantment, and  a  clear  expanse  of  water,  a  most  welcome  sight  to 
the  eyes  of  the  crew,  spread  out  before  them  where  a  few  mo- 
ments before  the  ice  had  blocked  their  progress.  All  over  the 
horizon  there  spread  magnificent  orange  tints,  which  rested  their 
eyes,  weary  with  gazing  at  the  eteraal  snow. 

Thursday,  July  26th,  the  Forward  coasted  along  Dundas  Isl- 
and, and  then  stood 
more  northward  ; 
but  there  she  found 
herself  face  to  face 
with  a  thick  mass 
of  ice,  eight  or  nine 
feet  high,  consisting 
of  little  icebergs 
washed  away  from 
the  shore  ;  they  had 
to  prolong  the  curve  they  were  making  to  the  west.  The  con- 
tinual cracking  of  the  ice,  joining  with  the  creaking  of  the  rolling 
ship,  sounded  like  a  gloomy  lamentation.  At  last  the  brig  found 
a  passage  and  advanced  through  it  slowly;  often  a  huge  floe 
delayed  her  for  hours  ;  the  fog  embarrassed  the  steersman  ;  at 
one  moment  he  could  see  a  mile  ahead,  and  it  was  ensy  to  avoid  all 
obstacles;  but  again  the  snow-squalls  would  hide  everything  from 


158 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


their  sight  at  the  distance  of  a  cable's  length.  The  sea  ran  verj 
high. 

Sometimes  the  smooth  clouds  assumed  a  strange  appearance, 
as  if  they  were  reflecting  the  ice-banks ;  there  were  days  when 
the  sun  could  not  pierce  the  dense  mist. 

The  birds  were  still  very  numerous,  and  their  cries  were  deaf- 
ening ;  the  seals,  lying  lazily  on  the  drifting  ice,  raised  their  heads 
without  being  frightened,  and  turned  their  long  necks  to  watch 


the  ship  go  by.  Often,  too,  the  brig  would  leave  bits  of  sheath- 
ing on  the  ice  against  which  she  grazed. 

Finally,  after  six  days  of  this  slow  sailing,  August  1st,  Point 
Beecher  was  made,  sighted  in  the  north ;  Hatteras  passed  the  last 
hours  in  the  lookout ;  the  open  sea,  which  Stewart  had  seen 
May  30,  1851,  towards  latitude  76°  20',  could  not  be  far  off, 
and  yet,  as  far  as  Hatteras  could  see,  he  could  make  out  no  sign 
of  an  open  polar  sea.     He  came  down  without  sa3nng  a  word. 

"  Do  you  believe  in  an  open  sea  1 "  asked  Shandon  of  the  sec- 
ond mate. 

*'  I  'm  beginning  to  have  my  doubts,"  answered  James  Wall. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  I59 

"  Was  n't  I  right  in  considering  this  pretended  discovery  as  a 
mere  hypothesis]  No  one  agreed  with  me,  and  you  too,  Wall, 
—  you  sided  against  me." 

"  They  '11  believe  you  next  time,  Shandon." 

"Yes,"  he  answered,  "when  it's  too  late." 

And  he  returned  to  his  cabin,  where  he  had  kept  himself  al- 
most exclusively  since  his  discussion  with  the  captain. 

Towards  evening  the  wind  shifted  to  the  south.  Hatteras  then 
set  his  sails  and  had  the  fires  put  out ;  for  many  days  the  crew 
were  kept  hard  at  work  ;  every  few  minutes  they  had  to  tack  or 
bear  away,  or  to  shorten  sail  quickly  to  stop  the  course  of  the 
brig ;  the  braces  could  not  run  easily  through  the  choked-up 
pulleys,  and  added  to  the  fatigue  of  the  crew ;  more  than  a  week 
was  required  for  them  to  reach  Point  Barrow.  The  Forward  had 
not  made  thirty  miles  in  ten  days. 

Then  the  wind  flew  around  to  the  north,  and  the  engine  was 
started  once  more.  Hatteras  still  hoped  to  find  an  open  sea  be- 
yond latitude  77°,  such  as  Edward  Belcher  had  seen. 

And  yet,  if  he  believed  in  Penny's  account,  the  part  of  the  sea 
which  he  was  now  crossing  ought  to  have  been  open  ;  for  Penny, 
having  reached  the  limit  of  the  ice,  saw  in  a  canoe  the  shores  of 
Queen's  Channel  at  latitude  77°. 

Must  he  regard  their  reports  as  apochryphal,  or  had  an  unusu- 
ally early  winter  fallen  upon  these  regions  1 

August  loth.  Mount  Percy  reared  into  the  mist  its  -peaks  cov- 
ered with  eternal  snow  ;  a  violent  wind  was  hurling  in  their  teeth 
a  fierce  shower  of  hail.  The  next  day  the  sun  set  for  the  first 
time,  terminating  at  last  the  long  series  of  days  twenty-four  hours 
long.  The  men  had  finally  accustomed  themselves  to  this  per- 
petual daylight ;  but  the  animals  minded  it  very  little  ;  the  Green- 
land dogs  used  to  go  to  sleep  at  the  usual  hour,  and  even  Duke  lay 
down  at  the  same  hour  every  evening,  as  if  the  night  were  dark. 

Still,  during  the  nights  following  August  16th  the  darkness 
was  never  very  marked ;  the  sun,  although  it  had  set,  still  gave 
light  enough  by  refraction. 

August  19th,  after  taking  a  satisfactory  observation,  Cape 
Franklin  was  seen  on  the  eastern  side,  and  opposite  it  Cape  Lady 


160 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS, 


Franklin ;  at  what  was  probably  the  farthest  point  reached  by 
this  bold  explorer,  his  fellow-countrymen  wanted  the  name  of  his 
devoted  wife  should  be  remembered  along  with  his  own,  as  an 
emblem  of  the  sympathy  which  always  united  them.  The  doctor 
was  much  moved  by  this  sight  in  this  distant  country. 

In  accordance  with  Johnson's  advice,  he  began  to  accustom 
himself  to  enduring  low  temperature  ;  he  kept  almost  all  the 
time  on  deck,  braving  the  cold,  wind,  and  snow.  Although  he 
had  grown  a  little  thinner,  he  did  not  suffer  from  the  severity  of 
the  climate.  Besides,  he  expected  other  dangers,  and  he  re- 
joiced, almost,  as  he  saw  the  winter  approaching. 

"  See,"  said  he  one  day  to  Johnson,  —  "  see  those  flocks  of 
birds  flying  south  !     How  they  fly  and  cry  adieu ! " 

"  Yes,  Dr.  Clawbonny,"  answered  Johnson,  "  something  has 
told  them  it  was  time  to  go,  and  they  are  off"." 

"  More  than  one  of 
our  men,  Johnson, 
would  be  glad  to  imi- 
tate them,  I  fancy." 

"They  are  timid  fel- 
lows, Doctor ;  what  a 
bird  can't  do,  a  man 
ought  to  try  !  Those 
birds  have  no  supply 
of  food,  as  we  have, 
and  they  must  support 
themselves  elsewhere. 
But  sailors,  with  a  good  ■ 
deck  under  the  feet,  ought  to  go  to  the  end  of  the  world." 

"You  hope,  then,  that  Hatteras  will  succeed  in  his  projects]" 
"  He  will  succeed.  Doctor." 

"I  agree  with  you,  Johnson,  even  if  only  one  faithful  man 
accompanies  him  —  " 

"  There  will  be  two  of  us  ! " 

"Yes,  Johnson,"  the  doctor  answered,  pressing  the  brave  sailor's 
hand. 

Prince  Albert's  Land,  along  which  the  Forward  was  now  coast- 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  161 

ing,  is  also  called  Grinnell's  Land ;  and  although  Hatteras,  from 
his  dislike  to  Americans,  never  was  willing  to  give  it  this  name, 
nevertheless,  it  is  the  one  by  which  it  is  generally  known.  This 
is  the  reason  of  this  double  title  :  at  the  same  time  that  the 
Englishman  Penny  gave  it  the  name  of  Prince  Albert,  the  captain 
of  the  Rescue,  Lieutenant  DeHaven,  named  it  Grinnell's  Land,  in 
honor  of  the  American  merchant  who  had  fitted  out  the  expedi- 
tion in  New  York. 

As  the  brig  followed  the  coast  it  met  with  serious  difficulties, 
going  sometimes  under  sail,  sometimes  under  steam.  August 
18th,  Mount  Britannia  was  sighted  through  the  mist,  and  the 
next  day  the  Forward  cast  anchor  in  Northumberland  Bay.  The 
ship  was  completely  protected. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

ATTACKED   BY   THE    ICE. 

Hatteras,  after  seeing  to  the  anchorage  of  the  ship,  returned  to 
his  cabin,  took  out  his  chart,  and  marked  his  position  on  it  very 
carefully ;  he  found  himself  in  latitude  76°  57',  and  longitude 
99°  20',  that  is  to  say,  only  three  minutes  from  latitude  77°.  It 
was  here  that  Sir  Edward  Belcher  passed  his  first  winter  with  the 
Pioneer  and  Assistance.  It  was  from  here  that  he  organized  his 
sledge  and  canoe  expeditions ;  he  discovered  Table  Island,  North 
Cornwall,  Victoria  Archipelago,  and  Belcher  Channel.  Having 
gone  beyond  latitude  78°,  he  saw  the  coast  inclining  towards  the 
southeast.  It  seemed  as  if  it  ought  to  connect  wdth  Jones's  Strait, 
which  opens  into  Baffin's  Bay.  But,  says  the  report,  an  open  sea, 
in  the  northwest,  "  stretched  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach." 

Hatteras  gazed  with  emotion  at  that  portion  of  the  charts 
where  a  large  white  space  marked  unknown  regions,  and  his  eyes 
always  returned  to  the  open  polar  sea. 

"  After  so  many  statements,"  he  said  to  himself,  —  "  after  the 
accounts  of  Stewart,  Penny,  and  Belcher,  doubt  is  impossible  ! 


162  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT T ERAS. 

These  bold  sailors  sa^,  and  with  their  own  eyes !  Can  I  doubt 
their  word  %  No  !  But  yet  if  this  sea  is  closed  by  an  early 
winter —  But  no,  these  discoveries  have  been  made  at  in- 
tervals of  several  years ;  this  sea  exists,  and  I  shall  find  it !  I 
shall  see  it !  " 


"^.-Z^^-^^^y 


Hatteras  went  upon  the  quarter-deck.  A  dense  mist  enveloped 
the  Forward ;  from  the  deck  one  could  hardly  see  the  top  of  the 
mast.  Nevertheless,  Hatteras  ordered  the  ice-master  below,  and 
took  his  place  ;  he  wanted  to  make  use  of  the  first  break"  in  the 
fog  to  look  at  the  horizon  in  the  northwest. 

Shandon  took  occasion  to  say  to  the  second  mate,  — 

*'  Well,  Wall,  and  the  open  sea  % " 

"You  were  right,  Shandon,"  answered  Wall,  "and  we  have 
only  six  weeks'  coal  in  the  bunkers." 

"  The  doctor  will  invent  some  scientific  way,"  continued  Shan- 
don, "  of  heating  us  without  fuel.  I  've  heard  of  making  ice  with 
fire  ;  perhaps  he  will  make  fire  with  ice." 

Shandon  returned  to  his  cabin,  shrugging  his  shoulders. 

The  next  day,  August  20th,  the  fog  lifted  for  a  few  minutes. 
From  the  deck  they  saw  Hatteras  in  his  lofty  porch  gazing  intently 
towards  the  horizon ;    then  he  came  down  without  saying  a  word 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  163 

and  ordered  them  to  set  sail;  but  it  was  easy  to  see  that  his 
hopes  had  been  once  more  deceived. 

The  Forward  heaved  anchor  and  resumed  her  imcertain  path 
northward.  So  wearisome  was  it  that  the  main-topsail  and  fore- 
topsail  yards  were  lowered  with  all  their  rigging ;  the  masts  were 
also  lowered,  and  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  place  any  reliance 
on  the  varying  wind,  which,  moreover,  the  winding  nature  of  the 
passes  made  almost  useless ;  large  white  masses  were  gathering 
here  and  there  in  the  sea,  like  spots  of  oil ;  they  indicated  an  ap- 
proaching thaw ;  as  soon  as  the  wind  began  to  slacken,  the  sea 
began  to  freeze  again,  but  when  the  wind  arose  this  young  ice 
would  break  and  disperse.  Towards  evening  tlie  thermometer 
fell  to  17°. 

When  the  brig  arrived  at  the  end  of  a  closed  pass,  it  rushed  on 
at  full  steam  against  the  opposing  obstacle.  Sometimes  they 
thought  her  fairly  stopped ;  but  some  unexpected  motion  of  the 
ice-streams  would  open  a  new  passage  into  which  she  would 
plunge  boldly ;  during  these  stoppages  the  steam  would  escape 
from  the  safety-valves  and  fall  on  the  deck  in  the  form  of  snow. 
There  was  another  obstacle  to  the  progress  of  the  brig ;  the  ice 
would  get  caught  in  the  screw,  and  it  was  so  hard  that  the  engine 
could  not  break  it ;  it  was  then  necessary  to  reverse  the  engines, 
turn  the  brig  back,  and  send  some  men  to  free  the  snow  with  axes 
and  levers ;  hence  arose  many  difficulties,  fatigues,  and  delays. 

It  went  on  in  this  way  for  thirteen  days ;  the  Forward  ad- 
vanced slowly  through  Penny  Strait.  The  crew  murmured,  but 
obeyed ;  they  knew  that  retreat  was  now  impossible.  The  ad- 
vance towards  the  north  was  less  perilous  than  a  return  to  the 
south ;  it  w^as  time  to  think  of  going  into  winter-quarters. 

The  sailors  talked  together  about  their  condition,  and  one  day 
they  even  began  to  talk  with  Shandon,  who,  they  knew,  was  on 
their  side.  He  so  far  forgot  his  duty  as  an  officer  as  to  allow 
them  to  discuss  in  his  presence  the  authority  of  his  captain. 

*'  So  you  say,  Mr.  Shandon,"  asked  Gripper,  "  that  we  can't  go 
back  now  ] " 

•'  No,  it 's  too  late,"  answered  Shandon. 

"  Then,"  said  another  sailor,  "  we  need  only  look  forward  to 
going  into  winter-quarters  % " 


164         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

"  It 's  our  only  resource  !     No  one  would  believe  me  —  " 

"The  next  time,"  said  Pen,  who  had  returned  to  duty,  "they 
will  believe  you." 

"Since  I  sha' n't  be  in  command  —  "  answered  Shandon. 

"  Who  can  tell  % "  remarked  Pen.  "  John  Hatteras  is  free  to 
go  as  far  as  he  chooses,  but  no  one  is  obliged  to  follow  him." 

"  Just  remember,"  resumed  Gripper,  "  his  first  voyage  to  Baf- 
fin's Bay  and  what  came  of  it ! " 

"And  the  voyage  of  the  Farewell,''''  said  Clifton,  "which  was 
lost  in  the  Spitzenberg  seas  under  his  command." 

"  And  from  which  he  came  back  alone,"  added  Grijjper. 

"  Alone,  but  with  his  dog,"  said  Clifton. 

"We  don't  care  to  sacrifice  ourselves  for  the  whims  of  that 
man,"  continued  Pen. 

"  Nor  to  lose  all  the  w^ages  we  've  earned  so  hard." 

They  all  recognized  Clifton  by  those  words. 

"  When  we  pass  latitude  78°,"  he  added,  "  and  we  are  not  far 
from  it,  that  will  make  just  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds 
for  each  man,  six  times  eight  degrees." 

"But,"  asked  Gripper,  "sha' n't  we  lose  them  if  we  go  back 
without  the  captain  ? " 

"No,"  answered  Clifton,  "if  we  can  prove  that  it  was  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  return." 

"  But  the  captain  —  still  —  " 

"  Don't  be  uneasy,  Gripper,"  answered  Pen  ;  "  we  shall  have  a 
captain,  and  a  good  one,  whom  Mr.  Shandon  knows.  When  a 
captain  goes  mad,  he  is  dismissed  and  another  appointed.  Is  n't 
that  so,  Mr.  Shandon  % " 

"  My  friends,"  answered  Shandon,  evasively,  "  you  will  always 
find  me  devoted  to  you.     But  let  us  wait  and  see  what  turns  up." 

The  storm,  as  may  be  seen,  was  gathering  over  Hatteras's 
head  ;  but  he  pushed  on  boldly,  firm,  energetic,  and  confident. 
In  fact,  if  he  had  not  always  managed  the  brig  as  he  wanted  to, 
and  carried  her  where  he  was  anxious  to  go,  he  had  still  been 
very  successful ;  the  distance  passed  over  in  five  months  was  as 
great  as  what  it  had  taken  other  explorers  two  or  three  years  to 
make.     Hatteras  was  now  obliged  to  go  into  winter-quarters,  but 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  165 

this  would  not  alarm  men  of  courage,  experience,  and  confidence. 
Had  not  Sir  John  Ross  and  MacClure  spent  three  successive  win- 
ters in  the  arctic  regions'?     Could  not  he  do  what  they  had  done'? 

"Yes,  of  course,"  Hatteras  used  to  say,  "and  more  too,  if  need 
be.  Ah  !  "  he  said  regretfully  to  the  doctor,  "  why  was  I  unable 
to  get  through  Smith's  Sound,  at  the  north  of  Baffin's  Bay  %  I 
should  be  at  the  Pole  now  ! " 

"  Well,"  the  doctor  used  invariably  to  answer,  —  if  necessary  he 
could  have  invented  confidence,  —  "  we  shall  get  there.  Captain, 
but,  it  is  true,  at  the  ninety-ninth  meridian  instead  of  the  seventy- 
fifth  ;  but  what  difference  does  that  make  1  If  every  road  leads 
to  Rome,  it  is  even  surer  that  every  meridian  leads  to  the  Pole." 

August  3 1st,  the  thermometer  fell  to  13°.  The  end  of  the 
summer  was  evidently  near ;  the  Forward  left  Exmouth  Island 
to  starboard,  and  three  days  afterward  she  passed  Table  Island, 
lying  in  the  middle  of  Belcher  Channel.  Earlier  in  the  season 
it  would  have  been  possible  to  reach  Baffin's  Bay  through  this 
channel,  but  at  this  time  it  was  impossible  to  think  of  it.  This 
arm  of  the  sea  was  completely  filled  with  ice,  and  would  not  have 
offered  a  drop  of  open  water  to  the  prow  of  the  Forimrd ;  for 
the  next  eight  months  their  eyes  would  see  nothing  but  bound- 
less, motionless  ice-fields. 

Fortunately,  they  could  still  get  a  few  minutes  farther  north, 
but  only  by  breaking  the  new  ice  with  huge  beams,  or  by  blowing 
it  up  with  charges  of  powder.  They  especially  had  cause  to  fear 
calm  weather  while  the  temperature  was  so  low,  for  the  passes 
closed  quickly,  and  they  rejoiced  even  at  contrary  winds.  A  calm 
night,  and  everything  was  frozen  ! 

Now  the  Forward  could  not  winter  where  she  was,  exposed  to 
the  wind,  icebergs,  and  the  drift  of  the  channel ;  a  safe  protection 
was  the  first  thing  to  be  found  ;  Hatteras  hoped  to  gain  the  coast 
of  New  Cornwall,  and  to  find,  beyond  Point  Albert,  a  bay  suffi- 
ciently sheltered.     Hence  he  persisted  in  crowding  northward. 

But,  September  8,  an  impenetrable,  continuous  mass  of  ice  lay 
between  him  and  the  north ;  the  temperature  fell  to  10*.  Hat- 
teras, with  an  anxious  heart,  in  vain  sought  for  a  passage,  risking 
his  ship  a  hundred  times  and  escaping  from  his  perils  with  won- 


166  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

derful  skill.  He  might  have  been  accused  of  imprudence,  reck- 
lessness, folly,  blindness,  but  he  was  one  of  the  best  of  sailors. 

The  situation  of  the  Forward  became  really  dangerous  ;  in  fact, 
the  sea  was  closing  behind  her,  and  in  a  few  hours  the  ice  grew 
so  hard  that  men  could  run  upon  it  and  tow  the  brig  in  perfect 
safety. 

Hatteras,  not  being  able  to  get  around  this  obstacle,  deter- 
niined  to  attack  it  boldly  in  front.  He  made  use  of  his  strongest 
blasting  cylinders,  containing  eight  or  ten  pounds  of  powder.  The 
men  would  dig  a  hole  in  the  broadest  part  of  the  ice,  close  the 
orifice  with  snow,  after  having  placed  the  cylinder  in  a  horizontal 
position,  so  that  a  greater  extent  of  ice  might  be  exposed  to  the 
explosion ;  then  a  fuse  was  ligthed,  which  was  protected  by  a 
gutta-percha  tube. 

In  this  way  they  tried  to  break  the  ice ;  it  w^as  impossible  to 
saw  it,  for  the  fissures  w^ould  close  immediately.  Still,  Hatteras 
was  hoping  to  get  through  the  next  day. 

But  during  the  night  the  wind  blew  a  gale  ;  the  sea  raised  the 
crust  of  ice,  and  the  terrified  pilot  was  heard  shouting,  — 

"  Look  out  there  aft,  look  out  there  aft ! " 

Hatteras  turned  his  eyes  in  that  direction,  and  what  he  saw  in 
the  dim  light  was  indeed  alarming. 

A  great  mass  of  ice,  drifting  northward  with  the  tide,  was  rush- 
ing towards  the  brig  with  the  speed  of  an  avalanche. 

"  All  hands  on  deck  ! "  shouted  the  captain. 

This  floating  mountain  was  hardly  half  a  mile  aw^ay  ;  the  ice 
was  all  in  confusion  and  crashing  together  like  huge  grains  of  sand 
before  a  violent  tempest  ;  the  air  w^as  filled  with  a  terrible  noise. 

"  That,  Doctor,"  said  Johnson,  "  is  one  of  the  greatest  perils  we 
have  yet  met  with." 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  doctor,  quietly  ;  "  it  is  terrible  enough." 

"A  real  attack  which  we  must  repel,"  resumed  the  boatswain. 

"  In  fact,  one  might  well  think  it  was  an  immense  crowd  of 
antediluvian  animals,  such  as  might  have  lived  near  the  Pole. 
How  they  hurry  on,  as  if  they  were  racing ! " 

"  Besides,"  added  Johnson,  "  some  carry  sharp  lances,  of  which 
you  had  better  take  care.  Doctor." 


A  crash  was  heard,  and  as  it  came  against  the  starboard  quarter,  part  of  tljc 
rail  had  given  way."  —  Page  167. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  167 

"  It 's  a  real  siege,"  shouted  the  doctor.  "  Well,  let  us  run  to 
the  ramparts  ! " 

He  ran  aft  where  the  crew,  provided  with  beams  and  bars,  were 
standing  ready  to  repel  this  formidable  assault. 

The  avalanche  came  on,  growing  larger  at  every  moment  as  it 
caught  up  the  floating  ice  in  its  eddy ;  by  Hatteras's  orders  the 
cannon  was  loaded  with  ball  to  break  the  threatening  line.  But  it 
came  on  and  ran  towards  the  brig;  a  crash  was  heard,  and  as 
it  came  against  the  starboard-quarter,  part  of  the  rail  had  given 
way. 

"  Let  no  one  stir !  "  shouted  Hatteras.     "  Look  out  for  the  ice  !  " 

They  swarmed  on  board  the  ship  with  an  irresistible  force  ; 
lumps  of  ice,  weighing  many  hundredweight,  scaled  the  sides  of 
the  ship ;  the  smallest,  hurled  as  high  as  the  yards,  fell  back  in 
sharp  arrows,  breaking  the  shrouds  and  cutting  the  rigging.  The 
men  were  overcome  by  numberless  enemies,  who  were  heavy 
enough  to  crush  a  hundred  ships  like  the  Forward.  Every  one 
tried  to  drive  away  these  lumps,  and  more  than  one  sailor  was 
wounded  by  their  sharp  ends ;  among  others,  Bolton,  who  had  his 
left  shoulder  badly  torn.  The  noise  increased  immensely.  Duke 
barked  angrily  at  these  new  enemies.  The  darkness  of  the  night 
added  to  the  horrors  of  the  situation,  without  hiding  the  ice 
which  glowed  in  the  last  light  of  the  evening. 

Hatteras's  orders  sounded  above  all  this  strange,  impossible, 
supernatural  conflict  of  the  men  with  the  ice.  The  ship,  yielding 
to  this  enormous  pressure,  inclined  to  larboard,  and  the  end  of 
the  main-yard  was  already  touching  the  ice,  at  the  risk  of  break- 
ing the  mast. 

Hatteras  saw  the  danger ;  it  was  a  temble  moment ;  the  brig 
seemed  about  to  be  overturned,  and  the  masts  might  be  easily 
carried  away. 

A  large  block,  as  large  as  the  ship,  appeared  to  be  passing 
along  the  keel ;  it  arose  with  irresistible  power ;  it  came  on  past 
the  quarter-deck ;  if  it  fell  on  the  Forward,  all  was  over ;  soon  it 
rose  even  above  the  topmasts,  and  began  to  totter. 

A  cry  of  terror  escaped  from  every  one's  lips.  Every  one  ran 
back  to  starboard. 


168 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


But  at  that  moment  the  ship  was  relieved.  They  felt  her  lifted 
up,  and  for  an  instant  she  hung  in  the  air,  then  she  leaned  over 
and  fell  back  on  the  ice,  and  then  she  rolled  so  heavily  that  her 
planks  cracked.     What  had  happened  ] 

Raised  by  this  rising  tide,  driven  by  the  ice  which  attacked  her 
aft,  she  was  getting  across  this  impenetrable  ice.  After  a  minute 
of  this  strange  sailing,  which  seemed  as  long  as  a  century,  she 
fell  back  on  the  other  side  of  the  obstacle  on  a  field  of  ice ;  she 
broke  it  with  her  weight,  and  fell  back  into  her  natural  element. 

"  We  have  got  by  the  thick  ice  ! "  shouted  Johnson,  who  had 
run  forward. 

"  Thank  God  ! "  said  Hatteras. 


In  fact,  the  brig  lay  in  the  centre  of  a  basin  of  ice,  which  en- 
tirely surrounded  her,  and  although  her  keel  lay  under  water  she 
could  not  stir ;  but  if  she  were  motionless,  the  field  was  drifting 
along. 

**  We  are  drifting,  Captain  !  "  shouted  Johnson. 

"  All  right,"  answered  Hatteras. 

Indeed,  how  was  it  possible  to  resist  it  1 

Day  broke,  and  it  was  evident  that  under  the  influence  of  a  sub- 
marine current  the  bank  of  ice  was  floating  northward  with  great 


THE  ENGLISH  J.T  THE  NORTH  POLE.  169 

rapidity.  This  floating  mass  carried  the  Forward  with  it,  in  the 
midst  of  the  ice-field,  the  edge  of  which  could  not  be  seen;  to 
provide  for  any  accident  that  might  happen,  Hatteras  had  a  large 
supply  of  provisions  carried  on  deck,  as  well  as  materials  for 
camping,  clothing,  and  cover ;  as  MacClure  had  done  under  simi- 
lar circumstances,  he  surroimded  the  ship  with  hammocks  filled 
with  air  to  protect  her  from  damage.  Soon  it  was  so  cold  (7°), 
that  the  ship  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  from  which  only  the 
masts  issued. 

For  seven  days  they  sailed  in  this  way ;  Point  Albert,  which 
forms  the  western  extremity  of  New  Cornwall,  was  seen  Sep- 
tember 10th,  and  soon  disappeared;  the  ice-field  was  seen  to  be 
drifting  eastward  from  that  time.  Where  was  it  going  ]  Where 
would  it  stop  1     Who  could  say  ] 

The  crew  waited  with  folded  arms.  At  last,  September  15th, 
towards  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  ice-field,  having  prob- 
ably ran  against  another  one,  stopped  suddenly  ;  the  ship  was 
jarred  violently ;  Hatteras,  who  had  kept  his  reckoning  all  along, 
looked  at  his  chart ;  he  found  himself  in  the  north,  with  no  land 
in  sight,  in  longitude  95°  35',  and  latitude  78°  15',  in  the  centre 
of  the  region  of  the  unknown  sea,  which  geographers  have  consid- 
ered the  place  of  greatest  cold. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  WINTERING. 

The  same  latitude  is  colder  in  the  southern  than  in  the  north- 
ern hemisphere ;  but  the  temperature  of  the  New  World  is  fifteen 
degrees  beneath  that  of  the  other  parts  of  the  world ;  and  in 
America  these  countries,  known  under  the  name  of  the  region  of 
greatest  cold,  are  the  most  inclement. 

The  mean  temperature  for  the  whole  year  is  two  degrees  below 
zero.     Physicists  have  explained  this  fact  in  the  following  way, 
and  Dr.  Clawbonny  shared  their  opinion. 
8 


170 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


According  to  them,  the  most  constant  winds  in  the  northern 
regions  of  America  are  from  the  southwest ;  they  come  from  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  with  an  equal  and  agreeable  temperature ;  but 
before  they  reach  the  arctic  seas  they  are  obliged  to  cross  the 
great  American  continent,  which  is  covered  with  snow ;  the 
contact  chills  them,  and  communicates  to  these  regions  their 
intense  cold. 

Hatteras  found  himself  at  the  pole  of  cold,  beyond  the  coun- 
tries seen  by  his  predecessors ;  he  consequently  expected  a  ter- 
rible winter,  on  a  ship  lost  amid  the  ice,  with  a  turbulent  crew\ 
He  resolved  to  meet  these  dangers  with  his  usual  energy.  He 
faced  what  awaited  him  without  flinching. 

He  began,  with  Johnson's  aid  and  experience,  to  take  all  the 
measures  necessary  for  going  into  winter-quarters.  According  to 
his  calculation  the  Forward  had  been  carried  two  hundred  and 


fifty  miles  from  any  known  land,  that  is  to  say,  from  North  Corn- 
w^all ;  she  was  firmly  fixed  in  a  field  of  ice,  as  in  a  bed  of  granite, 
and  no  human  power  could  extricate  her. 

There  was  not  a  drop  of  open  water  in  these  vast  seas  chained 
by  the  fierce  arctic  winter.  The  ice-fields  stretched  away  out  of 
sight,  but  without  presenting  a  smooth  surface.      Far  from  it. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  171 

Numerous  icebergs  stood  up  in  the  icy  plain,  and  the  Forward 
was  sheltered  by  the  highest  of  them  on  three  points  of  the  com- 
pass ;  the  southeast  wind  alone  reached  them.  Let  one  imagine 
rock  instead  of  ice,  verdure  instead  of  snow,  and  the  sea  again 
liquid,  and  the  brig  would  have  quietly  cast  anchor  in  a  pretty 
bay,  sheltered  from  the  fiercest  blasts.  But  what  desolation 
here  !     What  a  gloomy  prospect !     What  a  melancholy  view  ! 

The  brig,  although  motionless,  nevertheless  had  to  be  fastened 
securely  by  means  of  anchors ;  this  was  a  necessary  precaution 
against  possible  thaws  and  submarine  upheavals.  Johnson,  on 
hearing  that  the  Forward  was  at  the  pole  of  cold,  took  even 
greater  precautions  for  securing  warmth. 

"  We  shall  have  it  severe  enough,"  he  had  said  to  the  doctor ; 
"  that 's  just  the  captain's  luck,  to  go  and  get  caught  at  the  most 
disagreeable  spot  on  the  globe  !  Bah  !  you  will  see  that  we  shall 
get  oyt  of  it." 

As  to  the  doctor,  at  the  bottom  of  his  heart  he  was  simply 
delighted.  He  would  not  have  changed  it  for  any  other.  Winter 
at  the  pole  of  cold  !     What  good  luck  ! 

At  first,  work  on  the  outside  occupied  the  crew  ;  the  sails  were 
kept  furled  on  the  yards  instead  of  being  placed  at  the  bottom  of 
the  hold,  as  the  earlier  explorers  did ;  they  were  merely  bound 
up  in  a  case,  and  soon  the  frost  covered  them  with  a  dense  enve- 
lope;  the  topmasts  were  not  unshipped,  and  the  crow's-nest 
remained  in  its  place.  It  was  a  natural  observatory;  the  run- 
ning-rigging alone  was  taken  down. 

It  became  necessary  to  cut  away  the  ice  from  the  ship  to  re- 
lieve the  pressure.  That  w4iich  had  accumulated  outside  was 
quite  heavy,  and  the  ship  did  not  lie  as  deep  as  usual.  This  was 
a  long  and  laborious  task.  At  the  end  of  some  days  the  ship's 
bottom  was  freed,  and  could  be  inspected ;  it  had  not  suffered, 
thanks  to  its  solidity ;  only  its  copper  sheathing  was  nearly  torn 
away.  The  ship,  having  grown  lighter,  drew  about  nine  inches 
less  than  she  did  earlier ;  the  ice  was  cut  away  in  a  slope,  follow- 
ing the  make  of  the  hull ;  in  this  way  the  ice  formed  beneath  the 
brig's  keel  and  so  resisted  all  pressure. 

The  doctor  took  part  in  this  work ;  he  managed  the  ice-cutter 


172  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT  TEE  AS. 

well ;  he  encouraged  the  sailors  by  his  good-humor.  He  in- 
structed them  and  himself.  He  approved  of  this  arrangement  of 
the  ice  beneath  the  ship. 

"  That  is  a  good  precaution,"  he  said. 

"  Without  that,  Dr.  Clawbonny,"  answered  Johnson,  "  resist- 
ance would  be  impossible.  Now  we  can  boldly  raise  a  wall  of 
snow  as  high  as  the  gunwale ;  and,  if  we  want  to,  we  can  make  it 
ten  feet  thick,  for  there  is  no  lack  of  material." 

"  A  capital  idea,"  resumed  the  doctor ;  "  the  snow  is  a  bad  con- 
ductor of  heat ;  it  reflects  instead  of  absorbing,  and  the  inside 
temperature  cannot  escape." 

"True,"  answered  Johnson;  *'we  are  building  a  fortification 
against  the  cold,  and  also  against  the  animals,  if  they  care  to 
visit  us ;  when  that  is  finished,  it  will  look  well,  you  may  be 
sure ;  in  this  snow  we  shall  cut  two  staircases,  one  fore,  the  other 
aft ;  when  the  steps  are  cut  in  the  snow,  we  shall  pour  water  on 
them ;  this  will  freeze  as  hard  as  stone,  and  we  shall  have  a  royal 
staircase." 

"Precisely,"  answered  the  doctor;  " and  it  must  be  said  it  is 
fortunate  that  cold  produces  both  snow  and  ice,  by  which  to  pro- 
tect one's  self  against  it.  Without  that,  one  would  be  very  much 
embarrassed." 

In  fact,  the  ship  was  destined  to  disappear  beneath  a  thick 
casing  of  ice,  which  was  needed  to  preserve  its  inside  tempera- 
ture ;  a  roof  made  of  thick  tarred  canvas  and  covered  with  snow 
was  built  above  the  deck  over  its  whole  length ;  the  canvas  was 
low  enough  to  cover  the  sides  of  the  ship.  The  deck,  being  pro- 
tected from  all  outside  impressions,  became  their  walk;  it  was 
covered  with  two  and  a  half  feet  of  snow  ;  this  snow  w^as  crowded 
and  beaten  down  so  as  to  become  very  hard ;  so  it  resisted  the 
radiation  of  the  internal  heat ;  above  it  was  placed  a  layer  of 
sand,  which  as  it  solidified  became  a  sort  of  macadamized  cover 
of  great  hardness. 

"  A  little  more,"  said  the  doctor,  "  and  with  a  few  trees  I  might 
imagine  myself  at  Hyde  Park,  or  even  in  the  hanging-gardens  at 
Babylon." 

A  trench  was  dug  tolerably  near  the  brig ;  this  was  a  circular 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


173 


space  in  the  ice,  a  real  pit,  which  had  to  "be  kept  always  open. 
Every  morning  the  ice  formed  overnight  was  broken ;  this  was  to 
secure  water  in  case  of  fire  or  for  the  baths  which  were  ordered 
the  crew  by  the  doctor ;  in  order  to  spare  the  fuel,  the  water  was 
drawn  from  some  distance  below  the  ice,  where  it  was  less  cold. 
This  was  done  by  means  of  an  instrument  devised  by  a  French 
physicist  (Francois  Arago) ;  this  apparatus,  lowered  for  some 
distance  into-  the  water,  brought  it  up  to  the  surface  through  a 
cylinder. 


Generally  in  winter  everything  which  encumbers  the  ship  is 
removed,  and  stored  on  land.  But  what  was  practicable  near 
land  is  impossible  for  a  ship  anchored  on  the  ice. 

Every  preparation  was  made  to  fight  the  two  great  enemies  of 
this  latitude,  cold  and  dampness ;  the  first  produces  the  second, 
which  is  far  more  dangerous.  The  cold  may  be  resisted  by  one 
who  succumbs  to  dampness;  hence  it  was  necessary  to  guard 
against  it. 

The  Forward^  being  destined  to  a  journey  in  arctic  seas,  con- 
tained the  best  arrangements  for  winter-quarters  :  the  large  room 
for  the  crew  was  well  provided  for ;  the  corners,  where  dampness 
first  forms,  were  shut  off;  in  fact,  when  the  temperature  is  very 


174  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

low,  a  film  of  ice  forms  on  the  walls,  especially  in  the  corners,  and 
when  it  melts  it  keeps  up  a  perpetual  dampness.  If  it  had  been 
round,  the  room  would  have  been  more  convenient ;  but,  being 
heated  by  a  large  stove,  and  properly  ventilated,  it  was  very  com- 
fortable ;  the  walls  were  lined  with  deerskins,  not  with  wool,  for 
wool  absorbs  the  condensed  moisture  and  keeps  the  air  full  of 
dampness. 

Farther  aft  the  walls  of  the  quarter  were  taken  down,  and  the 
officers  had  a  larger  common-room,  better  ventilated,  and  heated 
by  a  stove.  This  room,  like  that  of  the  crew,  had  a  sort  of  ante- 
chamber, which  cut  off  all  communication  with  the  outside.  In 
this  way,  the  heat  could  not  be  lost,  and  one  passed  gradually 
from  one  temperature  to  the  other.  In  the  anterooms  were  left 
the  snow-covered  clothes ;  the  shoes  were  cleansed  on  the  scrap- 
ers, so  as  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  any  unwholesomeness 
with  one  into  the  room. 

Canvas  hose  served  to  introduce  air  for  the  draught  of  the 
stoves;  other  pieces  of  hose  permitted  the  steam  to  escape.  In 
addition  two  condensers  were  placed  in  the  two  rooms,  and  col- 
lected this  vapor  instead  of  letting  it  form  into  v»'ater;  twice  a 
week  they  were  emptied,  and  often  they  contained  several  bush- 
els of  ice.     It  was  so  much  taken  from  the  enemy. 

The  fire  was  perfectly  and  easily  controlled,  by  means  of  the 
canvas  hose ;  by  use  of  merely  a  small  quantity  of  coal  it  was 
easy  to  keep  the  temperature  of  50°.  Still,  Hatteras,  having  ex- 
amined the  bunkers,  soon  saw  that  the  greatest  economy  was 
necessary,  for  there  was  not  two  months'  fuel  on  board. 

A  drying-room  was  set  apart  for  the  clothes  which  were  to  be 
washed ;  they  could  not  be  dried  in  the  open  air,  for  they  would 
freeze  and  tear. 

The  delicate  pieces  of  the  machinery  were  carefully  taken 
down,  and  the  room  which  contained  them  was  hermetically 
closed. 

The  life  on  board  became  the  object  of  serious  meditation ; 
Hatteras  regulated  it  with  the  utmost  caution,  and  the  order  of 
the  day  was  posted  up  in  the  common-room.  The  men  arose  at 
six  o'clock  in  the  morning;   three  times  a  week  the  hammocks 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  175 

were  aired  ;  every  morning  the  floors  were  scoured  with  hot  sand ; 
tea  was  served  at  every  meal,  and  the  bill  of  fare  varied  as  much 
as  possible  for  every  day  of  the  week;  it  consisted  of  bread, 
farina,  suet  and  raisins  for  puddings,  sugar,  cocoa,  tea,  rice,  lemon- 
juice,  potted  meats,  salt  beef  and  pork,  cabbages,  and  vegetables 
in  vinegar ;  the  kitchen  lay  outside  of  the  living-rooms ;  its  heat 
was  consequently  lost ;  but  cooking  is  a  perpetual  source  of  evap- 
oration and  dampness. 

The  health  of  the  men  depends  a  great  deal  on  the  sort  of  food 
they  get ;  in  high  latitudes,  the  greatest  amount  of  animal  food 
ought  to  be  eaten.  The  doctor  had  supervised  the  sort  of  food  to 
be  given. 

*'  We  ought  to  follow  the  Esquimaux,"  he  used  to  say ;  "  they 
have  received  their  lessons  from  nature,  and  are  our  masters  in 
that ;  if  the  Arabs  and  Africans  can  content  themselves  with  a 
few  dates  and  a  handful  of  rice,  here  it  is  important  to  eat,  and 
to  eat  a  good  deal.  The  Esquimaux  take  from  ten  to  fifteen 
pounds  of  oil  a  day.  If  that  fare  does  not  please  you,  we  must  try 
food  rich  in  sugar  and  fat.  In  a  word,  we  need  carbon,  so  let  us 
manufacture  carbon  !  It  is  well  to  put  coal  in  the  stove,  but  don't 
let  us  forget  to  fill  that  precious  stove  we  cany  about  with  us." 

With  this  bill  of  fare,  strict  cleanliness  was  enforced;  every 
other  day  each  man  was  obliged  to  bathe  in  the  half-frozen  water 
which  the  iron  pump  brought  up,  and  this  was  an  excellent  way 
of  preserving  their  health.  The  doctor  set  the  example  ;  he  did 
it  at  first  as  a  thing  which  ought  to  be  very  disagreeable ;  but 
this  pretext  was  quickly  forgotten,  for  he  soon  took  real  pleasure 
in  this  healthy  bath. 

When  work  or  hunting  or  distant  expeditions  took  the  men 
oft*  in  the  severe  cold,  they  had  to  take  special  care  not  to  be 
frost-bitten ;  if  they  were,  rubbing  with  snow  would  restore  the 
circulation.  Moreover,  the  men,  who  all  wore  woollen  clothes, 
put  on  coats  of  deerskin  and  trousers  of  sealskin,  which  per- 
fectly resist  the  wind. 

The  different  arrangements  of  the  ship,  the  getting-to-rights  on 
board,  took  about  three  weeks,  and  they  reached  October  10th 
without  any  special  incident. 


176  THE  ADVENTUllES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

ONE    OP   JAMES    ROSS's    FOXES. 

On  that  day  the  thermometer  fell  to  three  degrees  below  zero. 
The  day  was  calm  ;  the  cold  was  very  endurable  in  the  absence 
of  wind.  Hatteras  took  advantage  of  the  clearness  of  the  air  to 
reconnoitre  the  surrounding  plains ;  he  ascended  one  of  the  high- 
est icebergs  to  the  north,  but  even  with  his  glass  he  could  make 
out  nothing  but  a  series  of  ice-mountains  and  ice-fields.  There 
was  no  land  in  sight,  nothing  but  gloomy  confusion.  He  re- 
turned, and  tried  to  calculate  the  probable  length  of  their  im- 
prisonment. 

The  hunters,  and  among  them  the  doctor,  James  Wall,  Simp- 
son, Johnson,  and  Bell,  kept  them  supplied  with  fresh  meat. 
The  birds  had  disappeared,  seeking  a  milder  climate  in  the  south. 
The  ptarmigans  alone,  a  sort  of  rock-partridge  peculiar  to  this 
latitude,  did  not  flee  the  winter ;  it  was  easy  to  kill  them,  and 
there  were  enough  to  promise  a  perpetual  supply  of  game. 


Hares,  foxes,  wolves,  ermines,  and  bears  were  plentiful;  a 
French,  English,  or  Norwegian  hunter  would  have  had  no  right 
to  complain ;  but  they  were  so  shy  that  it  was  hard  to  approach 
them  ;  besides,  it  was  hard  to  distinguish  them  on  the  white  plain, 
they  being  white  themselves,  for  in  winter  they  acquire  that  col- 
ored fur.     In  opposition  to  the  opinions  of  some  naturalists,  the 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


Ill 


doctor  held  that  this  change  was  not  due  to  the  lowering  of  the 
temperature,  since  it  took  place  before  October ;  hence  it  was  not 
due  to  any  physical  cause,  but  rather  providential  foresight,  to 
secure  these  animals  against  the  severity  of  an  arctic  winter. 

Often,  too,  they  saw  sea-cows  and  sea-dogs,  animals  included 
under  the  name  of  seals ;  all  the  hunters  were  specially  recom- 
mended to  shoot  them,  as  much  for  their  skins  as  for  their  fat, 
which  was  very  good  fuel.  Besides,  their  liver  made  a  very  good 
article  of  food;  they  could  be  counted  by  hundreds,  and  two  or 
three  miles  north  of  the  ship  the  ice  was  continually  perforated 
by  these  huge  animals;  only  they  avoided  the  hunter  with  re- 
markable instinct,  and  many  were  wounded  who  easily  escaped 
by  diving  under  the  ice. 


Still,  on  the  19th,  Simpson  succeeded  in  getting  one  four  hun- 
dred yards  distant  from  the  ship ;  he  had  taken  the  precaution  to 
close  its  hole  in  the  ice,  so  that  it  could  not  escape  from  its 
pursuers.  He  fought  for  a  long  time,  and  died  only  after  re- 
ceiving many  bullets.  He  was  nine  feet  long  ;  his  bull-dog  head, 
the  sixteen  teeth  in  his  jaw,  his  large  pectoral  fins  shaped  like 
little  wings,  his  little  tail  with  another  pair  of  fins,  made  him  an 
excellent  specimen.  The  doctor  wished  to  preserve  his  head  for 
his  collection  of  natural  history,  and  his  skin  for  future  contin- 
gences,  hence  he  prepared  both  by  a  rapid  and  economical  process. 
He  plunged  the  body  in  the  hole,  and  thousands  of  little  prawns 
removed  the  flesh  in  small  pieces ;  at  the  end  of  half  a  day  the 
work  was  half  finished,  and  the  most  skilful  of  the  honorable 
corporation  of  tanners  at  Liverpool  coiild  not  have  done  better. 

When  the  sun  had  passed  the  autumn  equinox,  that  is  to  say, 


178 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


September  23d,  the  winter  fairly  begins  in  the  arctic  regions. 
The  sun,  having  gradually  sunk  to  the  horizon,  disappeared  at 
last,  October  23d,  lighting  up  merely  the  tops  of  the  mountains 
with  ^ts  oblique  rays.  The  doctor  gave  it  his  last  farewell.  He 
could  not  see  it  again  till  the  month  of  February. 

Still  the  darkness  was  not  complete  during  this  long  absence 
of  the  sun ;  the  moon  did  its  best  to  replace  it ;  the  stars  were 
exceedingly  brilliant,  the  auroras  were  very  frequent,  and  the 
refractions  peculiar  to  the  snowy  horizons;  besides,  the  sun  at 
the  time  of  its  greatest  southern  declension,  December  21st,  ap- 
proaches within  thirteen  degrees  of  the  polar  horizon ;  hence, 
every  day  there  was  a  certain  twilight  for  a  few  hours.  Only  the 
mist  and  snow-storms  often  plunged  these  regions  in  the  deepest 
obscurity. 

Still,  up  to  this  time  the  weather  was  very  favorable ;  the 
partridges  and  hares  alone  had  reason  to  complain,  for  the 
hunters  gave  them  no  rest ;  a  great  many  traps  were  set  for 
foxes,  but  these  crafty  animals  could  not  be  caught ;  very  often 
they  scraped  the  snow  away  beneath  the  trap  and  took  the  bait 
without  running  any  risk;  the  doctor  cursed  them,  being  very 
averse  to  making  them  such  a  present. 


October  2.5th,  the  thermometer  fell  as  low  as  —  4°.  A  violent 
hurricane  raged  ;  the  air  was  filled  with  thick  snow,  which  per- 
mitted no  ray  of  light  to  reach  the  Forward.  For  several  hours 
there  was  some  anxiety  about  the  fate  of  Bell  and  Simpson,  who 
had  gone  some  distance  away  hunting ;  they  did  not  reach  the 
ship  till  the  next  day,  having  rested  for  a  whole  day  wrapped  up 
in  their  furs,  while  the  hurricane  swept  over  them  and  buried 


The  moon  shone  with  incomparable  purity,  glistening  on  the  least  roughness 
in  the  ice."  —  Page  180. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  179 

them  under  five  feet  of  snow.  They  were  nearly  frozen,  and  the 
doctor  found  it  very  hard  to  restore  their  circulation. 

The  tempest  lasted  eight  days  without  interruption.  No  one 
could  set  foot  outside.  In  a  single  day  there  were  variations  in 
the  temperature  of  fifteen  or  twenty  degrees. 

During  this  enforced  leisure  every  one  kept  to  himself,  some 
sleeping,  others  smoking,  others  again  talking  in  a  low  tone  and 
stopping  at  the  approach  of  Johnson  or  the  doctor ;  there  was  no 
moral  tie  between  the  men  of  the  crew ;  they  only  met  at  even- 
ing prayers  and  at  Sunday  services. 

Clifton  knew  perfectly  well  that  when  the  seventy-eighth  par- 
allel was  passed,  his  share  of  the  pay  would  amount  to  three 
hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds ;  he  thought  it  a  good  round 
sum,  and  his  ambition  did  not  go  any  further.  His  opinion  was 
generally  shared,  and  all  looked  forward  to  the  day  when  they 
should  enjoy  this  hardly-earned  fortune. 

Hatteras  kept  almost  entirely  out  of  sight.  He  never  took 
part  in  the  hunts  or  the  walks  from  the  ship.  He  took  no  inter- 
est in  the  meteorological  phenomena  which  kept  the  doctor  in  a 
constant  state  of  admiration.  He  lived  with  but  a  single  idea ; 
it  consisted  of  three  words,  —  The  North  Pole.  He  only  thought 
of  when  the  Forward,  free  at  last,  should  resume  her  bold  course. 

In  fact,  the  general  feeling  on  board  was  one  of  gloom.  Noth- 
ing was  so  sad  as  the  sight  of  this  captive  vessel,  no  longer  resting 
in  its  natural  element,  but  with  its  shape  hidden  beneath  thick 
layers  of  ice ;  it  looks  like  nothing ;  it  cannot  stir,  though  made 
for  motion  ;  it  is  turned  into  a  wooden  storehouse,  a  sedentary 
dwelling,  this  ship  which  knows  how  to  breast  the  wind  and  the 
storms.  This  anomaly,  this  false  situation,  filled  their  hearts 
with  an  indefinable  feeling  of  disquiet  and  regret. 

During  these  idle  hours  the  doctor  arranged  the  notes  he  had 
taken,  from  which  this  book  is  made  up ;  he  was  never  out  of 
spirits,  and  never  lost  his  cheerfulness.  Yet  he  was  glad  to  see 
the  end  of  the  storm,  and  prepared  to  resume  his  hunting. 

November  3d,  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  with  a  temperature 
of  —  5°,  he  set  off  in  company  with  Johnson  and  Bell ;  the  expanse 
of  ice  was  unbroken;  all  the  snow  which  had  fallen  so  abundantly 


180  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

during  the  preceding  days  was  hardened  by  the  frost,  and  made 
good  walking ;  the  air  was  keen  and  piercing ;  the  moon  shone 
with  incomparable  purity,  glistening  on  the  least  roughness  in 
the  ice  ;  their  footprints  glowed  like  an  illuminated  trail,  and  their 
long  shadows  stood  out  almost  black  against  the  brilliant  ice. 

The  doctor  had  taken  Duke  with  him ;  he  preferred  him  to  the 
Greenland  dogs  to  hunt  game,  and  he  was  right ;  for  they  are  of 
very  little  use  under  such  circumstances,  and  they  did  not  appear 
to  possess  the  sacred  fire  of  the  race  of  the  temperate  zone. 
Duke  ran  along  with  his  nose  on  the  ground,  and  he  often  stopped 
on  the  recent  marks  of  bears.  Still,  in  spite  of  his  skill,  the 
hunters  did  not  find  even  a  hare  in  two  hours'  walking. 

"Has  all  the  game  felt  it  necessary  to  go  souths'  said  the 
doctor,  stopping  at  the  foot  of  a  hummock. 

"  1  should  fancy  it  must  be  so.  Doctor,"  answered  the  carpenter. 

"  I  don't  think  so,"  said  Johnson  ;  "  the  hares,  foxes,  and  bears 
are  accustomed  to  this  climate  ;  I  think  this  last  storm  must 
have  driven  them  away ;  but  they  will  come  back  with  the  south- 
winds.  Ah,  if  you  were  to  talk  about  reindeer  and  musk-deer, 
that  might  be  different !  " 

''And  yet  at  Melville  Island  numberless  animals  of  this  sort 
are  found,"  resumed  the  doctor ;  "  it  lies  farther  south,  it  is  true, 
and  during  the  winters  he  spent  there  Parry  always  had  plenty 
of  this  magnificent  game." 

"We  have  much  poorer  luck,"  answered  Bell;  "if  we  could 
only  get  enough  bear's  meat,  we  would  do  very  well." 

"The  difficulty  is,"  said  the  doctor,  "the  bears  seem  to  me 
very  rare  and  very  wild ;  they  are  not  civilized  enough  to  come 
within  gun-shot." 

"Bell  is  talking  about  the  flesh  of  the  bear,"  said  Johnson, 
"but  his  grease  is  more  useful  than  his  flesh  or  his  fur." 

"You  are  right,  Johnson,"  answered  Bell;  "you  are  always 
thinking  of  the  fuel." 

"  How  can  I  help  it  %  Even  with  the  strictest  economy,  we  have 
only  enough  for  three  weeks  !  " 

"  Yes,"  resumed  the  doctor,  "  that  is  the  real  danger,  for  we 
are  now  only  at  the  beginning  of  November,  and  February  is  the 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  181 

coldest  month  in  the  frigid  zone ;  still,  if  we  can't  get  bear's 
grease,  there  's  no  lack  of  seal's  grease." 

"  But  not  for  a  very  long  time.  Doctor,"  answered  Johnson ; 
"  they  will  soon  leave  us ;  whether  from  cold  or  fright,  soon  they 
won't  come  upon  the  ice  any  more." 

"  Then,"  continued  the  doctor,  "  we  shall  have  to  fall  back  on 
the  bear,  and  I  confess  the  bear  is  the  most  useful  animal  to  be 
found  in  these  countries,  for  he  furnishes  food,  clothing,  light,  and 
fuel  to  men.  Do  you  hear,  Duke  1 "  he  said,  patting  the  dog's 
head,  "  we  want  some  bears,  my  friend,  bears  !  bears  ! " 

Duke,  who  was  sniffing  at  the  ice  at  that  time,  aroused  by  the 
voices,  and  caresses  of  the  doctor,  started  off  suddenly  with  the 
speed  of  an  arrow.  He  barked  violently  and,  far  off  as  he  was, 
his  loud  barks  reached  the  hunters'  ears. 

The  extreme  distance  to  which  sound  is  carried  when  the  tem- 
perature is  low  is  an  astonishing  fact ;  it  is  only  equalled  by  the 
brilliancy  of  the  constellations  in  the  northern  skies ;  the  waves 
of  light  and  sound  are  transmitted  to  great  distances,  especially 
in  the  dry  cold  of  the  nights. 

The  hunters,  guided  by  his  distant  barking,  hastened  after 
him ;  they  had  to  run  a  mile,  and  they  got  there  all  out  of 
breath,  which  happens  very  soon  in  such  an  atmosphere.  Duke 
stood  pointing  about  fifty  feet  from  an  enormous  mass  which  was 
rolling  about  on  the  top  of  a  small  iceberg. 

"  Just  what  we  wanted  ! "  shouted  the  doctor,  cocking  his  gim. 

"  A  fine  bear  !  "  said  Bell,  following  the  doctor's  example. 

"  A  curious  bear !  "  said  Johnson,  who  intended  to  fire  after  his 
companions. 

Duke  barked  furiously.  Bell  advanced  about  twenty  feet,  and 
fired ;  but  the  animal  seemed  untouched,  for  he  continued  rolling 
his  head  slowly. 

Johnson  came  forward,  and,  after  taking  careful  aim,  he  pulled 
the  trigger. 

"Good  !  "  said  the  doctor;  "nothing  yet !  Ah,  this  cursed  re- 
fraction !  We  are  too  far  off ;  we  shall  never  get  used  to  it !  That 
bear  is  more  than  a  mile  away." 

"  Come  on  ! "  answered  Bell. 


182 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


The  three  companions  hastened  toward  the  animal,  which  had 
not  been  alarmed  by  the  firing ;  he  seemed  to  be  very  large,  but, 
without  weighing  the  danger,  they  gave  themselves  up  already  to 
the  joy  of  victory.  Having  got  within  a  reasonable  distance, 
they  fired ;  the  bear  leaped  into  the  air  and  fell,  mortally 
wounded,  on  the  level  ice  below. 


^  ^^<^A^ 


Duke  rushed  towards  him. 

"  That 's  a  bear,"  said  the  doctor,  "  which  was  easily  con- 
quered." 

"  Only  three  shots,"  said  Bell  with  some  scorn,  "  and  he 's 
down!" 

"That's  odd,"  remarked  Johnson. 

"  Unless  we  got  here  just  as  he  was  going  to  die  of  old  age," 
continued  the  doctor,  laughing. 

"AVell,  young  or  old,"  added  Bell,  "he  's  a  good  capture." 

Talking  in  this  way  they  reached  the  small  iceberg,  and,  to 
their  great  surprise,  they  found  Duke  growling  over  the  body  of 
a  white  fox. 

"  Upon  my  word,"  said  Bell,  "  that 's  too  much  !  " 

"  Well,"  said  the  doctor,  "  we  've  fired  at  a  bear,  and  killed  a 
fox ! " 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE. 


183 


^-^^i^. 


Well, 


our   imagination 


Johnson  did  not  know  what  to  sav. 

"Well,"  said  the  doctor  with  a  burst  of  laughter  in  which 
there  was  a  trace  of  disappointment,  "  that  refraction  again  !  It 's 
always  deceiving  us." 

"  What  do  you 
mean,  Doctor  1"  asked 
the  carpenter. 

"  Yes,  my  friend ; 
it  deceived  us  with 
respect  to  its  size  as 
well  as  the  distance ! 
It  made  us  see  a  bear 
in  a  fox's  skin  !  Such 
a  mistake  is  not  un- 
common under  similar  circumstances  ! 
alone  was  wrong  !  " 

"  At  any  rate,"  answered  Johnson,  "bear  or  fox,  he  's  good  eat- 
ing.     Let 's  carry  him  off." 

But  as  the  boatswain  was  lifting  him  to  his  shoulders :  — 

"  That 's  odd,"  he  said. 

"  What  is  it  % "  asked  the  doctor. 

"  See  there.  Doctor,  he  's  got  a  collar  around  his  neck." 

"  A  collar  ] "  asked  the  doctor  again,  examining  the  fox. 

In  fact,  a  half- worn-out  copper  collar  appeared  under  his  white 
fur ;  the  doctor  thought  he  saw  letters  engraved  upon  it ;  he  un- 
fastened it  from  the  animal's  neck,  about  which  it  seemed  to  have 
been  for  a  long  time. 

"  What  does  that  mean  ?"  asked  Johnson. 

"  That  means,"  said  the  doctor,  "  that  we  have  just  killed  a  fox 
more  than  twelve  years  old,  —  a  fox  who  was  caught  by  James 
Koss  in  1848." 

"  Is  it  possible  ] "  said  Bell. 

"  There  's  no  doubt  about  it.  I  'm  sorry  we  killed  him  !  While 
he  was  in  winter-quarters,  James  Ross  thought  of  trapping  a 
large  number  of  white  foxes;  he  fastened  on. their  necks  copper 
collars  on  which  was  engraved  the  position  of  his  ships,  the  En- 
terprise and  Investigator,  as  well  as  where  the  supplies  were  left. 


184 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


These  animals  run  over  immense  distances  in  search  of  food,  and 
James  Ross  hoped  that  one  of  them  might  fall  into  the  hands 
of  one  of  the  men  of  the  Franklin  expedition.  That 's  the  simple 
explanation ;  and  this  poor  beast,  who  might  have  saved  the  life 
of  two  crews,  has  fallen  uselessly  beneath  our  guns." 

"  Well,  we  won't  eat  it,"  said  Johnson,  ^'especially  if  it 's  twelve 
years  old.     But  we  shall  keep  the  skin  as  a  memento." 

Johnson  raised  it  to  his  shoulders.  The  hunters  made  their 
way  to  the  ship,  guiding  themselves  by  the  stars ;  their  expedi- 
tion was  not  wholly  without  result ;  they  were  able  to  bring  back 
several  ptarmigans. 


An  hour  before  reaching  the  Forivard,  there  was  a  singular 
phenomenon  which  greatly  interested  the  doctor.  It  was  a  real 
shower  of  shooting-stars;  they  could  be  counted  by  thousands, 
flying  over  the  heavens  like  rockets ;  they  dimmed  the  light  of 
the  moon.  For  hours  they  could  have  stood  gazing  at  this  beau- 
tiful sight.  A  similar  phenomenon  was  observed  in  Greenland  in 
1799,  by  the  Moravians.  It  looked  like  an  exhibition  of  fire- 
works. The  doctor  after  his  return  to  the  ship  spent  the  whole 
night  gazing  at  the  sight,  which  lasted  till  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  while  the  air  was  perfectly  silent. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  185 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

THE     LAST     PIECE     OF     COAL. 

The  bears,  it  seemed,  could  not  be  caught ;  a  few  seals  were 
killed  on  the  4th,  5th,  and  6th  of  November,  and  the  wind 
shifted  and  the  weather  grew  much  milder ;  but  the  snow-drifts 
began  again  with  incomparable  severity.  It  became  impossible  to 
leave  the  ship,  and  it  was  hard  to  subdue  the  dampness.  At  the 
end  of  the  week  the  condensers  contained  several  bushels  of  ice. 

The  weather  changed  again  November  1 5th,  and  the  thermom- 
eter, under  the  influence  of  certain  atmospheric  conditions,  sank 
to  — 24°.  That  was  the  lowest  temperature  they  had  yet  ob- 
served. This  cold  would  have  been  endurable  in  calm  weather ; 
but  the  wind  was  blowing  at  that  time,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the 
air  was  filled  with  sharp  needles. 

The  doctor  regretted  his  captivity,  for  the  snow  was  hardened 
by  the  wind,  so  as  to  make  good  walking,  and  he  might  have 
gone  very  fixr  from  the  ship. 

Still,  it  should  be  said  that  the  slightest  exercise  in  so  low  a 
temperature  is  very  exhausting.  A  man  can  perform  hardly 
more  than  a  quarter  of  his  usual  work ;  iron  utensils  cannot  be 
touched  ;  if  the  hand  seizes  them,  it  feels  as  if  it  were  burned,  and 
shreds  of  skin  cleave  to  the  object  which  had  been  incautiously 
seized. 

The  crew,  being  confined  to  the  ship,  were  obliged  to  walk  on 
the  covered  deck  for  two  hours  a  daj^,  where  they  had  leave  to 
smoke,   which  was  forbidden  in  the  common-room. 

There,  when  the  fire  got  low,  the  ice  used  to  cover  the  walls 
and  the  intervals  between  the  planks ;  every  nail  and  bolt  and 
piece  of  metal  was  immediately  covered  with  a  film  of  ice. 

The  celerity  of  its  formation  astonished  the  doctor.  The 
breath  of  the  men  condensed  in  the  air,  and,  changing  from  a  fluid 
to  a  solid  form,  it  fell  about  them  in  the  form  of  snow.     A  few 


186  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

feet  from  the  stove  it  was  very  cold,  and  the  men  stood  grouped 
around  the  fire. 

Still,  the  doctor  advised  them  to  harden  themselves,  and  to 
accustom  themselves  to  the  cold,  which  was  not  so  severe  as 
what  yet  awaited  them ;  he  advised  them  to  expose  their  skin 
gradually  to  this  intense  temperature,  and  he  himself  set  the 
example ;  but  idleness  or  numbness  nailed  most  of  them  to  their 
place ;  they  refused  to  stir,  and  preferred  sleeping  in  that  un- 
healthy heat. 

Yet,  according  to  the  doctor,  there  was  no  danger  in  exposing 
one's  self  to  great  cold  after  leaving  a  heated  room ;  these  sudden 
changes  only  inconvenience  those  who  are  in  a  perspiration ;  the 
doctor  quoted  examples  in  support  of  his  opinion,  but  his  lessons 
were  for  the  most  part  thrown  away. 

As  for  John  Hatteras,  he  did  not  seem  to  mind  the  inclement 
cold.  He  walked  to  and  fro  silently,  never  faster  or  slower.  Did 
not  the  cold  affect  his  powerful  frame  %  Did  he  possess  to  a  very 
great  degree  the  principle  of  natural  heat  which  he  wanted  his 
men  to  possess  %  Was  he  so  bound  up  in  his  meditations  that  he 
was  indilFerent  to  outside  impressions'?  His  men  saw  him  with 
great  astonishment  braving  a  temperature  of  — 24° ;  he  would 
leave  the  ship  for  hours,  and  come  back  without  appearing  to 
suffer  from  the  cold. 

"  He  's  a  singular  man,"  said  the  doctor  to  Johnson ;  "  he 
astonishes  me  !  He  carries  a  glowing  furnace  within  him  !  He 
is  one  of  the  strongest  natures  I  ever  saw  !  " 

'*  The  fjict  is,"  answered  Johnson,  "  he  goes  and  comes  and 
circulates  in  the  open  air,  without  dressing  any  more  thickly  than 
in  the  month  of  June." 

"  0,  it  does  n't  make  much  difference  what  one  wears ! "  an- 
swered the  doctor;  "what  is  the  use  of  dressing  warmly  if  one 
can't  produce  heat  within  himself]  It  's  like  trying  to  heat  ice 
by  wrapping  it  up  in  wool !  But  Hatteras  does  n't  need  it;  he  's 
built  that  way,  and  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  his  side  was  as 
warm  as  the  neighborhood  of  a  glowing  coal." 

Johnson,  who  was  charged  with  clearing  away  the  water-hole 
every  morning,  noticed  that  the  ice  was  ten  feet  thick. 


Almost  every  night  the  doctor  could  observe  the  magnitlcent  auroras"—  Page  1S7. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


187 


Almost  every  night  the  doctor  could  observe  the  magnificent 
auroras ;  from  four  o'clock  till  eight  of  the  evening,  the  sky  in  the 
north  was  slightly  lighted  up;  then  this  took  a  regular  shape,  with 
a  rim  of  light  yellow,  the  ends  of  which  seemed  to  touch  the  field 
of  ice.  Gradually  the  brilliancy  arose  in  the  heavens,  following  the 
magnetic  meridian,  and  appeared  striped  with  black  bands ;  jets 
of  luminosity  shot  with  varying  brightness  here  and  there ;  when 
it  reached  the  zenith  it  was  often  composed  of  several  arcs  bathed 
in  waves  of  red,  yellow,  or  green  light.  It  was  a  dazzling  sight. 
Soon  the  different  curves  met  in  a  single  point,  and  formed 
crowns  of  celestial  richness.  Finally  the  arcs  all  crowded  to- 
gether, the  splendid  aurora  grew  dim,  the  intense  colors  faded 
away  into  pale,  vague,  uncertain  tints,  and  this  wonderful  phenome- 
non vanished  gradually,  insensibly,  in  the  dark  clouds  of  the  south. 

It  is  difficult  to  realize  the  wonderful,  magical  beauty  of  such  a 
spectacle  in  high  latitudes,  less  than  eight  degrees  from  the  pole ; 


the  auroras  which  are  seen  in  the  temperate  zone  give  no  idea  of 
it ;  it  seems  as  if  Providence  wished  to  reserve  the  greatest 
wonders  for  these  regions. 

Numerous   mock-moons   appeared    also  while   the    moon    was 
saining,  and  a  great  many  would  appear  in  the  sky,  adding  to 


188         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

the  general  brilliancy ;  often,  too,  simple  lunar  halos  surrounded 
the  moon  with  a  circle  of  splendid  lustre. 

November  26th  the  tide  rose  very  high,  and  the  water  came 
through  the  hole  with  great  violence ;  the  thick  crust  of  ice 
seemed  pushed  up  by  the  force  of  the  sea,  and  the  frequent 
cracking  of  the  ice  proclaimed  the  conflict  that  was  going  on 
beneath;  fortunately  the  ship  remained  firm  in  her  bed,  but  her 
chains  worked  noisily ;  it  was  as  a  precaution  against  just  such 
an  event,  that  Hatteras  had  made  the  brig  fast. 

The  following  days  were  still  colder ;  a  dense  fog  hid  the  sky ; 
the  wind  tossed  the  snow  about ;  it  w^as  hard  to  determine 
whether  it  came  from  the  clouds  or  from  the  ice-fields ;  every- 
thing was  in  confusion. 

The  crew  kept  busy  with  various  interior  occupations,  the 
principal  one  being  the  preparation  of  the  grease  and  oil  from  the 
seal ;  it  was  frozen  into  blocks  of  ice,  which  had  to  be  cut  with  a 
hatchet ;  it  was  broken  into  small  fragments,  which  were  as  hard 
as  marble  ;  ten  barrels  full  were  collected.  As  may  be  seen, 
every  vessel  became  nearly  useless,  besides  the  risk  of  its  break- 
ing when  the  contents  froze. 

The  28th  the  thermometer  fell  to  — 32°  ;  there  was  only 
ten  days'  coal  on  board,  and  every  one  awaited  with  horror  the 
moment  when  it  should  come  to  an  end. 

Hatteras,  for  the  sake  of  economy,  had  the  fire  in  the  stove  in 
the  after-room  put  out ;  and  from  that  time  Shandon,  the  doctor, 
and  he  w^ere  compelled  to  betake  themselves  to  the  common-room 
of  the  crew.  Hatteras  was  hence  brought  into  constant  commu- 
nication with  his  men,  who  gazed  at  him  with  surly,  dejected 
glances.  He  heard  their  fault-finding,  their  reproaches,  even 
their  threats,  without  being  able  to  punish  them.  However,  he 
seemed  deaf  to  every  remark.  He  never  went  near  the  fire.  He 
remained  in  a  corner,  with  folded  arms,  without  saying  a  word. 

In  spite  of  the  doctor's  recommendations.  Pen  and  his  friends 
refused  to  take  the  slightest  exercise ;  they  passed  whole  days 
crouching  about  the  stove  or  under  their  bedclothes ;  hence  their 
health  began  to  suffer ;  they  could  not  react  against  the  rigor  of 
the  climate,  and  scurvy  soon  made  its  appearance  on  board. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


189 


The  doctor  had  long  since  begun  to  distribute,  ever}^  morning, 
lemon-juice  and  lime  pastilles;  but  these  precautions,  which  were 
generally  so  efficacious,  did  very  little  good  to  the  sick ;  and  the 
disease,  following  its  usual  course,  soon  showed  its  most  horrible 
symptoms. 

Terrible  indeed  it  was  to  see  those  wretches  with  their  nerves 
and  muscles  contracted  with  pain !  Their  legs  were  fearfully 
swollen,  and  were  covered  with  large  bluish-black  patches ;  their 
bleeding  gums,  their  swollen  lips,  permitted  them  to  utter  only 
inarticulate  sounds ;  their  blood  was  poisoned,  deprived  of  fibriue, 
and  no  lono-er  carried  life  to  the  extremities. 


Clifton  was  the  first  to  be  attacked  by  this  cruel  malady ;  soon 
Gripper,  Brunton,  and  Strong  had  to  keep  to  their  hammocks. 
Those  whom  the  illness  spared  could  not  avoid  the  sight  of  the 
sufferings  of  their  friends ;  the  common-room  was  the  only  place 
where  they  could  stay ;  so  it  was  soon  transformed  into  a  hospi- 
tal, for  of  the  eighteen  sailors  of  the  Fw^ward,  thirteen  were  soon 
down  with  scurvy.  It  seemed  as  if  Pen  would  escape  the  conta- 
gion ;  his  strong  constitution  preserved  him ;  Shandon  felt  the 
first  symptoms,  but  it  went  no  further  with  him,  and  plenty  of 
exercise  soon  restored  him  to  good  health. 


190  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

The  doctor  tended  his  patients  with  the  greatest  devotion,  and 
his  heart  would  bleed  at  the  sight  of  the  sufferings  he  could  not 
assuage.  Still,  he  inspired  as  much  cheerfulness  as  he  could  in 
the  lonely  crew ;  his  words,  his  consolations,  his  philosophical 
reflections,  his  fortunate  inventions,  broke  the  monotony  of  those 
long  days  of  suffering ;  he  would  read  aloud  to  them ;  his  won- 
derful memory  kept  him  supplied  with  amusing  anecdotes,  >vhile 
the  men  who  were  well  stood  pressing  closely  around  the  stove ; 
but  the  groans  of  the  sick,  their  complaints,  and  their  cries  of 
despair  would  continually  interrupt  him,  and,  breaking  off  in  the 
middle  of  a  story,  he  would  become  the  devoted  and  attentive 
physician. 

Besides,  his  health  remained  good  ;  he  did  not  grow  thin ;  his 
corpulence  stood  him  in  better  stead  than  the  thickest  raiment, 
and  he  used  to  say  he  was  as  well  clad  as  a  seal  or  a  whale,  who, 
thanks  to  their  thick  layers  of  fat,  easily  support  the  rigors  of  the 
winter, 

Hatteras  did  not  suffer  physically  or  morally.  The  sufferings 
of  the  crew  did  not  seem  to  depress  him.  Perhaps  he  would  not 
let  his  emotions  appear  on  his  face,  while  an  acute  observer  would 
have  detected  the  heart  of  a  man  beneath  this  mask  of  iron. 

The  doctor  analj'zed  him,  studied  him,  and  could  not  classify 
this  strange  organization,  this  unnatural  temperament. 

The  thermometer  fell  still  lower ;  the  deck  was  entirely  de- 
serted ;  the  Esquimaux  dogs  alone  walked  up  and  down  it,  barking 
dismally. 

There  w\as  always  a  man  on  guard  near  the  stove,  who  superin- 
tended putting  on  the  coal ;  it  was  important  not  to  let  it  go  out ; 
when  the  fire  got  low  the  cold  crept  into  the  room,  formed  on  the 
walls,  and  the  moisture  suddenly  condensed  and  fell  in  the  form 
of  snow  on  the  unfortunate  occupants  of  the  brig. 

It  was  among  these  terrible  sufferings  that  they  reached  De- 
cember 8th  ;  that  morning  the  doctor  went  as  usual  to  look  at  the 
thermometer.     He  found  the  mercury  entirely  frozen  in  the  bulb. 

"  Forty-four  degrees  below  zero  ! "  he  said  with  terror. 

And  on  that  day  the  last  piece  of  coal  on  board  was  thrown 
into  the  stove. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE,  191 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

THE    GREAT    COLD    AT    CHRISTMAS. 

For  a  moment  he  had  a  feeling  of  despair.  The  thought  of 
death,  and  death  by  cold,  appeared  in  all  its  horror;  this  last 
piece  of  coal  burned  with  an  ominous  splutter;  the  fire  seemed 
about  to  go  out,  and  the  temperature  of  the  room  fell  noticeably. 
But  Johnson  went  to  get  some  of  the  new  fuel  which  the  marine 
animals  had  furnished  to  them,  and  with  it  he  filled  the  stove ; 
he  added  to  it  some  tow  filled  with  frozen  oil,  and  soon  obtained 
sufficient  heat.  The  odor  was  almost  unendurable;  but  how 
get  rid  of  it  ]  They  had  to  get  used  to  it.  Johnson  agreed  that 
his  plan  was  defective,  and  that  it  would  not  be  considered  a 
success  in  Liverpool. 

"  And  yet,"  he  added,  "  this  unpleasant  smell  will,  perhaps, 
produce  good  results." 

"  What  are  they  % "  asked  the  carpenter. 

"  It  will  doubtless  attract  the  bears  this  way,  for  they  are  fond 
of  the  smell." 

"Well,"  continued  Bell,  "what  is  the  need  of  having  bears'?" 

"  Bell,"  replied  Johnson,  "  we  can't  count  on  seals  any  longer ; 
they  're  gone  away,  and  for  a  long  time  ;  if  bears  don't  come  in 
their  place  to  supply  us  with  their  share  of  fuel,  I  don't  know 
what  is  to  become  of  us." 

"  True,  Johnson,  our  fate  is  very  uncertain ;  our  position  is  a 
most  alarming  one.  And  if  this  sort  of  fuel  gives  out,  I  don't 
see  how  —  " 

"  There  might  be  another  —  " 

"  Another  r' asked  Bell. 

"Yes,  Bell !  in  despair  on  account  of —  but  the  captain  would 
never  —  but  yet  we  shall  perhaps  have  to  come  to  it." 

And  Johnson  shook  his  head  sadly,  and  fell  to  thinking  gloomily. 
Bell  did  not  interrupt  him.     He  knew  that  the  supply  of  fat, 


192.         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

which  it  had  been  so  hard  to  acquire,  would  only  last  a  week, 
even  with  the  strictest  economy. 

The  boatswain  was  right.  A  great  many  bears,  attracted  by 
the  scent,  were  seen  to  leeward  of  the  Forward ;  the  healthy 
men  gave  chase;  but  these  animals  are  very  swift  of  foot,  and 
crafty  enough  to  escape  most  stratagems ;  it  was  impossible 
to  get  near  them,  and  the  most  skilful  gunners  could  not  hit 
them. 

The  crew  of  the  brig  was  in  great  danger  of  dying  from  the 
cold  ;  it  could  not  withstand,  for  forty-eight  hours,  such  a  temper- 
ature as  would  exist  in  the  common-room.  Every  one  looked 
forward  with  terror  to  getting  to  the  end  of  the  fuel. 

Now  this  happened  December  20th,  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon ;  the  fire  went  out ;  the  sailors,  grouped  about  the 
empty  stove,  gazed  at  one  another  with  haggard  eyes.  Hatteras 
remained  without  moving  in  his  corner ;  the  doctor,  as  usual, 
paced  up  and  down  excitedly ;  he  did  not  know  what  was  to  be 
done. 

The  temperature  in  the  room  fell  at  once  to  — 7°. 

But  if  the  doctor  was  baffled  and  did  not  know  what  they 
should  turn  their  hands  to,  others  knew  very  well.  So  Shandon, 
cold  and  resolute.  Pen,  with  wrath  in  his  eyes,  and  two  or  three 
of  his  companions,  such  as  he  could  induce  to  accompany  him, 
walked  towards  Hatteras. 

"  Captain  !  "  said  Shandon. 

Hatteras,  absorbed  in  his  thoughts,  did  not  hear  him. 

"  Captain  ! "  repeated  Shandon,  touching  him  with  his  hand. 

Hatteras  arose. 

"  Sir,"  he  said. 

*•  Captain,  the  fire  is  out." 

"  Well  % "  continued  Hatteras. 

"  If  you  intend  that  we  shall  freeze  to  death,"  Shandon 
went  on  with  grim  irony,  "  we  should  be  glad  if  you  would  tell 
us." 

*'  My  intention,"  answered  Hatteras  with  a  deep  voice,  "  is  that 
every  man  shall  do  his  duty  to  the  end." 

"  There  's  something  superior  to  duty.  Captain,"  answered  his 


TUB  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


193 


first  officer,  "  and  that  is  the  right  of  self-preservation.  I  repeat 
it,  we  have  no  fire ;  and  if  this  goes  on,  in  two  days  not  one  of  us 
will  be  alive." 

"  I  have  no  wood,"  answered  Hatteras,  gloomily. 

"  Well,"  shouted  Pen,  violently,  "  when  the  wood  gives  out,  we 
must  go  cut  it  where  it  grows !  " 

Hatteras  grew  pale  with  anger. 

''  Where  is  that  % "  he  asked. 

"On  board,"  answered  the  sailor,  insolently. 

"  On  board  ! "  repeated  the  captain,  with  clinched  fists  and 
sparkling  eyes. 

"  Of  course,"  answered  Pen,  "  when  the  ship  can't  carry  the 
crew,  the  ship  ought  to  be  burned." 

At  the  beginning  of  this  sentence  Hatteras  had  grasped  an 
axe  ;   at  its  end,  this  axe  was  raised  above  Pen's  head. 


mm^ 


"  Wretch  !  "  he  cried. 

The  doctor  sprang  in  front  of  Pen,  and  thrust  him  back  ]  the 
axe  fell  on  the  floor,  making  a  deep  gash.  Johnson,  Bell,  and 
Simpson  gathered  around  Hatteras,  and  seemed  determined  to 
support  him.  But  plaintive,  grievous  cries  arose  from  the  berths, 
transformed  into  death-beds. 


194 


THE  ADVENTURES   OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


"  Fire,  fire  ! "  they  cried,  shivering  beneath  their  now  insuffi- 
cient covering. 

Hatteras  by  a  violent  effort  controlled  himself,  and  after  a  few 
moments  of  silence,  he  said  calmly,  — 

''  If  we  destroy  the  ship,  how  shall  we  get  back  to  England  I" 
"  Sir,"  answered  Johnson,  *•'  perhaps  we  can  without  doing  any 
material  damage  burn  the  less  important  parts,  the  bulwarks,  the 
nettings  —  " 

"The  small  boats  will  be  left,"  said  Shandon ;  "and  besides, 
why  might  we  not  make  a  smaller  vessel  out  of  what  is  left  of  the 
old  onel" 

"  Never !  "  answered  Hatteras. 

"But  — "  interposed  many  of  the  men,  shouting  together, 
"We  have  a  large  quantity  of  spirits  of  wine,"  suggested  Hat- 
teras ;  "  burn  all  of  that." 

"  All  right ;  we  '11  take  the  spirits  of  wine ! "  answered  John- 
son, assuming  an  air  of  confidence  which  he  was  far  from  feeling. 
And  with  the  aid  of  long  wicks,  dipped  into  this  liquid  of  which 
the  pale  flame  licked  the  walls  of  the  stove,  he  was  able  to  raise 
the  temperature  of  the  room  a  few  degrees. 

In  the  following  days  the  wind  came  from  the  south  again  and 
the  thermometer  rose ;  the  snow,  however,  kept  falling.  Some 
of  the  men  were  able  to  leave  the  ship  for  the  driest  hours  of 
the  day  ;  but  ophthalmia  and  scurvy  kept  most  of  them  on  board  ; 
besides,  neither  hunting  nor  fishing  was  possible. 

But  this  was  only 

a  respite  in  the  fear- 
ful severity  of  the 
cold,  and  on  the 
2oth,  after  a  sudden 
change  of  wind,  the 
frozen  mercury  dis- 
appeared again  in 
the  bulb  of  the 
instrument  ;  then 
they  had  to  consult 
the  spirit-thermom- 
eter, which  does  not  freeze  even  in  the  most  intense  colds. 


'>:# 


'     ,P: 


mm 


He  was  armed,  and  he  kept  constant  guard,  without  minding  the  cold,  the  snow, 
or  the  ice."  —  Page  195. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  195 

The  doctor,  to  his  great  surprise,  found  it  marking  — 66°. 
Seldom  has  man  been  called  upon  to  endure  so  low  a  tem- 
perature. 

Tlie  ice  stretched  in  long,  dark  lines  upon  the  floor ;  a  dense 
mist  filled  the  room ;  the  dampness  fell  in  the  form  of  thick 
snow ;  the  men  could  not  see  one  another ;  their  extremities  grew 
cold  and  blue  ;  their  heads  felt  as  if  they  w^ore  an  iron  band ;  and 
their  thoughts  grew  confused  and  dull,  as  if  they  were  half 
delirious.  A  terrible  symptom  was  that  their  tongues  refused 
to  articulate  a  sound. 

From  the  day  the  men  threatened  to  burn  the  ship,  Hatteras 
would  walk  for  hours  upon  the  deck,  keeping  watch.  This  wood 
was  flesh  and  blood  to  him.  Cutting  a  piece  from  it  would  have 
been  like  cutting  off  a  limb.  He  was  armed,  and  he  kept  con- 
stant guard,  without  minding  the  cold,  the  snow,  or  the  ice,  which 
stiffened  his  clothing  as  if  it  covered  it  with  a  granite  cuirass. 
Duke  understood  him,  and  followed  him,  barking  and  howl- 
ing. 

Nevertheless,  December  25th  he  went  down  into  the  common- 
room.  The  doctor,  with  all  the  energy  he  had  left,  went  up  to 
him  and  said,  — 

"  Hatteras,  we  are  going  to  die  from  want  of  fire  ! " 

*•  Never ! "  said  Hatteras,  knowing  very  well  what  request  he 
was  refusing. 

**  We  must,"  continued  the  doctor,  mildly. 

"  Never  ! "  repeated  Hatteras  more  firmly ;  "  I  shall  never  give 
my  consent !     Whoever  wishes,  may  disobey  me." 

Thus  was  permission  given  them.  Johnson  and  Bell  hastened 
to  the  deck.  Hatteras  heard  the  wood  of  the  brig  crashing  under 
the  axe,  and  wept. 

That  was  Christmas  Day,  the  great  family  festival  in  England, 
one  specially  devoted  to  the  amusement  of  the  children.  What 
a  painful  recollection  was  that  of  the  happy  children  gathered 
about  the  gi-een  Christmas  tree  !  Every  one  recalled  the  huge 
pieces  of  roast  meat,  cut  from  the  fattened  ox,  and  the  tarts,  the 
mince-pies,  and  other  luxuries  so  dear  to  the  English  heart !  But 
here  was  nothing  but  suffering,  despair,  and  wretchedness,  and 


196  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

for  the  Christmas  log,  these  pieces  of  a  ship  lost  in  the  middle  of 
the  frigid  zone ! 

Nevertheless,  under  the  genial  influence  of  the  fire,  the  spirits 
and  strength  of  the  men  returned ;  the  hot  tea  and  coffee  brought 
great  and  immediate  consolation,  and  hope  is  so  firm  a  friend  of 
man,  that  they  even  began  to  hope  for  some  luckier  fate.  It  was 
thus  that  the  year  1860  passed  away,  the  early  winter  of  which 
had  so  interfered  with  Hatteras's  plans. 

Now  it  happened  that  this  very  New  Year's  Day  was  marked 
by  an  unexpected  discovery.  It  was  a  little  milder  than  the 
previous  days  had  been ;  the  doctor  had  resumed  his  studies ;  he 
was  reading  Sir  Edward  Belcher's  account  of  his  expedition  in  the 
polar  regions.  Suddenly,  a  passage  which  he  had  never  noticed 
before  filled  him  with  astonishment ;  he  read  it  over  again ;  doubt 
was  no  longer  possible. 

Sir  Edward  Belcher  states  that,  having  come  to  the  end  of 
Queen's  Channel,  he  found  there  many  traces  of  the  presence  of 
men.     He  says  :  — 

"  There  are  remains  of  dwellings  far  superior  to  what  can  be 
attributed  to  the  savage  habits  of  the  wandering  tribes  of  Esqui- 
maux. The  walls  are  firmly  placed  on  deep-dug  foundations ;  the 
inside,  covered  with  a  thick  layer  of  gravel,  has  been  paved.  Skel- 
etons of  moose,  reindeer,  and  seals  abound.    We  found  coal  there." 

At  these  last  words  an  idea  occurred  to  the  doctor ;  he  took  his 
book  and  ran  to  tell  liatteras. 

"  Coal !  "  shouted  the  captain. 

"  Yes,  Hatteras,  coal ;  that  is  to  say,  our  preservation  !  " 

"  Coal,  on  this  lonely  shore  !  "  continued  Hatteras ;  "  no,  that 's 
impossible ! " 

"  How  can  you  doubt  it,  Hatteras  1  Belcher  would  not  have 
mentioned  it  if  he  had  not  been  sure,  without  having  seen  it  with 
his  own  eyes." 

"  Well,  what  then.  Doctor  r' 

"  We  are  not  a  hundred  miles  from  the  place  where  Belcher 
saw  this  coal !  What  is  a  journey  of  a  hundred  miles  ?  Nothing. 
Longer  expeditions  have  often  been  made  on  the  ice,  and  with  the 
cold  as  intense.     Let  us  go  after  it,  Captain  ! " 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  197 

"  We  '11  go  ! "  said  Hatteras,  who  had  made  up  his  mind 
quickly ;  and  with  his  active'  imagination  he  saw  the  chance 
of  safety. 

Johnson  was  informed  of  the  plan,  of  which  he  approved  highly; 
he  told  his  companions  j  some  rejoiced,  others  heard  of  it  with  in- 
difference. 

"  Coal  on  these  shores  ! "  said  Wall  from  his  sick-bed. 

"  We  '11  let  them  go,"  answered  Shandon,  mysteriously. 

But  before  they  had  begun  to  make  preparations  for  the  trip, 
Hatteras  wanted  to  fix  the  position  of  the  Forward  with  the  ut- 
most exactitude.  The  importance  of  this  calculation  it  is  easy  to 
see.  Once  away  from  the  ship,  it  could  not  be  found  again  with- 
out knowing  its  position  precisely. 

So  Hatteras  went  up  on  deck ;  he  took  observations  at  differ- 
ent moments  of  several  lunar  distances,  and  the  altitude  of  the 
principal  stars.  He  found,  however,  much  difficulty  in  doing  this, 
for  when  the  temperature  was  so  low,  the  glass  and  the  mirrors 
of  the  instrument  were  covered  with  a  crust  of  ice  from  Hatteras's 
breath ;  more  than  once  his  eyelids  were  burned  by  touching  the 
copper  eye-pieces.  Still,  he  was  able  to  get  very  exact  bases  for 
his  calculations,  and  he  returned  to  the  common-room  to  work 
them  out.  When  he  had  finished,  he  raised  his  head  with  stupe- 
faction, took  his  chart,  marked  it,  and  looked  at  the  doctor. 

"WelU"  asked  the  latter. 

"  What  was  our  latitude  when  we  went  into  winter-quarters  % " 

"Our  latitude  was  78°  15',  and  the  longitude  95°  35',  exactly 
the  pole  of  cold." 

"  Well,"  added  Hatteras  in  a  low  voice,  "  our  ice-field  is  drift- 
ing !  We  are  two  degrees  farther  north  and  farther  west,  —  at 
least  three  hundred  miles  from  your  coal-supply  ! " 

"  And  these  poor  men  who  know  nothing  about  it ! "  cried  the 
doctor. 

"  Not  a  word  ! "  said  Hatteras,  raising  his  finger  to  his  lips. 


198  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  DEPARTURE. 

Hatteras  did  not  wish  to  let  his  crew  know  about  this  new 
condition  of  affairs.  He  was  right.  If  they  had  known  that  they 
were  being  driven  towards  the  north  with  irresistible  force,  they 
would  have  given  way  to  despair.  The  doctor  knew  this,  and 
approved  of  the  captain's  silence. 

Hatteras  had  kept  to  himself  the  impressions  which  this  dis- 
covery had  caused  within  him.  It  was  his  first  moment  of  joy 
during  these  long  months  of  struggle  with  the  hostile  elements. 
He  was  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  farther  north ;  hardly  eight 
degrees  from  the  Pole  !  But  he  hid  his  joy  so  well  that  the  doctor 
did  not  even  suspect  it ;  he  asked  himself  why  Hatteras's  eye 
shone  with  so  unusual  a  lustre  ;  but  that  was  all,  and  the  natural 
reply  to  this  question  did  not  enter  his  head. 

The  Forward,  as  it  approached  the  Pole,  had  drifted  away  from 
the  coal  which  had  been  seen  by  Sir  Edward  Belcher ;  instead  of 
a  hundred  miles,  it  would  have  to  be  sought  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  farther  south.  Still,  after  a  short  discussion  between 
Hatteras  and  Clawbonny,  they  determined  to  make  the  attempt. 

If  Belcher  was  right,  and  his  accuracy  could  not  be  doubted, 
they  would  find  everything  just  at  he  had  left  it.  Since  1853, 
no  new  expedition  had  visited  these  remote  continents.  Few,  if 
any,  Esquimaux  are  found  in  this  latitude.  The  disaster  which 
had  befallen  at  Beechey  Island  could  not  be  repeated  on  the 
shores  of  North  Cornwall.  Everything  seemed  to  favor  an  ex- 
cursion across  the  ice. 

They  estimated  that  they  would  be  gone  forty  days  at  the  out- 
side, and  preparations  were  made  by  Johnson  for  that  time  of 
absence. 

In  the  first  place,  he  saw  about  the  sledge ;  it  was  of  the  shape 
of  those  used  in  Greenland,  thirty-five  inches  broad  and  twenty- 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


199 


four  feet  long.  The  Esquimaux  sometimes  make  them  fifty  feet 
long.  It  was  built  of  long  planks,  bent  at  each  end,  and  kept  in 
position  by  two  strong  cords.  This  shape  adapted  it  to  resist 
violent  shocks.  The  sledge  ran  easily  upon  the  ice ;  but  before 
the  snow  had  hardened,  it  was  necessary  to  place  two  vertical 
frames  near  together,  and  being  raised  in  this  way,  it  could  run 
on  without  cutting  too  much  into  the  snow.  Besides,  by  rubbing 
it  with  a  mixture  of  sulphur  and  snow  in  the  Esquimaux  fashion, 
it  ran  very  easily. 

It  ^vas  drawn  by 
six  dogs ;  they  were 
strong  in  spite  of 
their  thinness,  and 
did  not  appear  to 
be  injured  by  the 
severity  of  the  win- 
ter ;  the  harnesses 
of  deerskin  were  in 
good  condition  ;  per- 
fect  reliance    could 

be  placed  on  the  equipment,  which  the  Greenlanders  at  Uper- 
navik  had  sold  in  conscience.  These  six  animals  alone  could  draw 
a  weight  of  two  thousand  pounds  without  inordinate  fatigue. 

They  carried  with  them  a  tent,  in  case  it  should  be  impossible 
to  build  a  snow-house;  a  large  sheet  of  mackintosh  to  spread  over 
the  snow,  so  that  it  should  not  melt  at  contact  with  their  bodies; 
and,  last  of  all,  many  coverings  of  wool  and  buffalo-skin.  In 
addition,  they  carried  the  Halkett-boat. 

Their  provisions  consisted  of  five  chests  of  pemmican,  weighing 
four  hundred  and  fifty  poimds ;  a  pound  of  pemmican  was  allotted 
for  each  man  and  dog ;  of  the  latter  there  were  seven,  including 
Duke  ;  there  were  to  be  four  men.  They  carried,  besides,  twelve 
gallons  of  spirits  of  wine,  weighing  nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds ;  tea  and  biscuit,  in  proper  amounts ;  a  little  portable 
kitchen,  with  a  great  many  wicks ;  and  much  tow,  ammunition, 
and  four  double-barrelled  guns.  The  men  of  the  party  made  use 
of  Captain  Parry's  invention,  and  wore  girdles  of  india-rubber  in 


200  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

which  the  heat  of  the  body  and  the  motion  in  walking  could  keep 
tea,  colfee,  and  water  in  a  liquid  state. 

Johnson  took  special  care  of  the  preparation  of  snow-shoes, 
with  their  wooden  frames  and  leathern  straps  ;  they  served  as 
skates  ;  on  thoroughly  frozen  spots  deerskin  moccasins  could  be 
worn  with  comfort ;  every  man  carried  two  pairs  of  each. 

These  preparations,  which  were  so  important  because  the  omis- 
sion of  a  single  detail  might  have  caused  the  ruin  of  the  whole 
expedition,  required  four  whole  days.  Every  day  at  noon  Hat- 
teras  took  an  observation  of  the  ship's  position ;  it  was  no  longer 
drifting,  and  this  had  to  be  perfectly  sure  in  order  to  secure  their 
return. 

Hatteras  undertook  to  choose  the  four  men  who  were  to  accom- 
pany him.  It  was  not  an  easy  decision  to  take  ;  some  it  was  not 
advisable  to  take,  but  then  the  question  of  leaving  them  on  board 
had  also  to  be  considered.  Still,  the  common  safety  demanded 
the  success  of  this  trip,  and  the  captain  deemed  it  right  to  choose 
sure  and  experienced  men. 

Hence  Shandon  was  left  out,  but  not  much  to  his  regret. 
James  Wall  was  too  ill  to  go.  The  sick  grew  no  worse ;  their 
treatment  consisted  of  repeated  rubbing  and  strong  doses  of 
lemon-juice;  this  was  easily  seen  to  witliout  the  presence  of  the 
doctor  being  essential.  Hence  he  enrolled  himself  among  those 
who  should  go,  and  no  voice  was  raised  against  it.  Johnson  would 
have  gladly  gone  with  the  captain  in  his  dangerous  expedition ; 
but  Hatteras  drew  him  to  one  side  and  said  to  him  in  an  affec- 
tionate, almost  weeping  voice,  — 

"Johnson,  you  are  the  only  man  I  can  trust.  You  arc  the 
only  officer  with  whom  I  can  leave  the  ship.  I  must  know  that 
you  are  here  to  keep  an  ey6  on  Shandon  and  the  others.  They 
are  kept  to  the  ship  by  the  winter ;  but  who  can  say  what  plans 
they  are  not  capable  of  forming  1  You  shall  receive  my  formal 
instructions,  which  shall  place  the  command  in  your  hands.  You 
shall  take  my  place.  We  shall  be  absent  four  or  five  weeks  at 
the  most,  and  I  shall  be  at  ease  having  you  here  where  I  cannot 
be.  You  need  wood,  Johnson.  I  know  it !  But,  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, spare  my  ship.     Do  you  understand,  Johnson  % " 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE. NORTH  POLE.  201 

"  I  understand,  Captain,"  answered  the  old  sailor,  "  and  I  will 
remain  if  you  prefer  it." 

"  Thanks  !  "  said  Hatteras,  pressing  the  boatswain's  hand ;  and 
he  added,  "  In  case  we  don't  come  back,  Johnson,  wait  till  the 
next  thaw,  and  try  to  push  on  to  the  Pole.  If  the  rest  refuse, 
don't  think  of  us,  but  take  the  Forward  back  to  England." 

"  That  is  your  wish.  Captain  % " 

"  It  is,"  answered  Hatteras. 

"  Your  orders  shall  be  obeyed,"  said  Johnson,  quietly. 

The  doctor  regretted  that  his  friend  was  not  going  to  accom- 
pany him,  but  he  was  obliged  to  recognize  the  wisdom  of  Hat- 
teras's  plan. 

His  two  other  companions  were  Bell  the  carpenter,  and  Simp- 
son. The  first,  who  was  sturdy,  brave,  and  devoted,  would  be 
of  great  service  in  their  camping  in  the  snow ;  the  other, 
although  less  resolute,  nevertheless  determined  to  take  part 
in  this  expedition  in  which  he  might  be  of  use  as  hunter  and 
hsber. 

So  this  detachment  consisted  of  Hatteras,  Clawbonny,  Bell, 
Simpson,  and  the  faithful  Duke,  making  in  all  four  men  and 
seven  dogs  to  be  fed.  A  suitable  amount  of  provisions  was  made 
ready. 

During  th^  early  days  of  January  the  mean  temperature  was 
— 33°.  Hatteras  waited  impatiently  for  milder  weather  ;  he  fre- 
quently consulted  the  barometer,  but  no  confidence  could  be 
placed  in  this  instrument,  which  in  these  high  latitudes  seems  to 
lose  some  of  its  customary  accurac}' ;  in  these  regions  there  are 
many  exceptions  to  the  general  laws  of  nature :  for  instance,  a 
clear  sky  was  not  always  accompanied  by  cold,  nor  did  a  fall  of 
snow  raise  the  temperature ;  the  barometer  was  uncertain,  as 
many  explorers  in  these  seas  have  noticed ;  it  used  to  fall  when 
the  wind  was  from  the  north  or  east ;  when  low  it  foretold  fine 
weather ;  when  high,  rain  or  snow.  Hence  its  indications  could 
hardly  be  relied  on. 

Finally,  January  5th  an  easterly  breeze  brought  with  it  a  rise 
in  the  thermometer  of  fifteen  degrees,  so  that  it  stood  at  — 18°. 
Hatteras  resolved  to  start  the  next  day ;  he  could  no  longer  en- 


202  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  EAT T ERAS. 

dure  seeing  his  ship  torn  to  pieces  before  his  eyes;  the  whole 
quarter-deck  had  been  burned  up. 

So,  January  6th,  amid  squalls  of  snow,  the  order  to  depart  was 
given ;  the  doctor  gave  his  last  words  of  advice  to  the  sick ;  Bell 
and  Simpson  shook  hands  silently  with  their  companions.  Hat- 
teras  wanted  to  make  a  farewell  speech  to  the  men,  but  he  saw 
nothing  but  angry  faces  around  him.  He  fancied  he  saw  an  iron- 
ical smile  playing  about  Shandon's  lips.  He  held  his  peace. 
Perhaps  he  had  a  momentary  pang  at  parting  as  he  gazed  at  the 
Forivard. 

But  it  was  too  late  for  him  to  change  his  mind ;  the  sledge, 
loaded  and  harnessed,  was  waiting  on  the  ice ;  Bell  was  the  first 
to  move ;  the  others  followed.  Johnson  accompanied  the  travellers 
for  a  quarter  of  a  mile ;  then  Hatteras  asked  him  to  return, 
which  he  did  after  a  long  leave-taking.  At  that  moment,  Hat- 
teras, turning  for  the  last  time  towards  the  brig,  saw  the  tops  of 
her  masts  disappearing  in  the  dark  snow-clouds. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

ACROSS    THE    ICE-FIELDS. 

The  little  band  made  their  way  towards  the  southeast.  Simp- 
son drove  the  sledge.  Duke  aided  him  much,  without  being  dis- 
turbed at  the  occupation  of  his  mates.  Hatteras  and  the  doctor 
followed  behind  on  foot,  while  Bell,  who  was  charged  with  making 
a  road,  went  on  in  advance,  testing  the  ice  with  the  iron  point  of 
his  stick. 

The  rise  in  the  thermometer  foretold  a  fall  of  snow,  and  soon  it 
came,  beginning  in  large  flakes.  This  added  to  the  hardships  of 
their  journey ;  they  kept  straying  from  a  straight  line ;  they 
could  not  go  quickly ;  nevertheless,  they  averaged  three  miles  an 
hour. 

The  ice-field,  under  the  pressure  of  the  frost,  presented  an  un- 
equal surface ;  the  sledge  was  often  nearly  turned  over,  but  they 
succeeded  in  saving  it. 


The  little  band  made  their  way  towards  the  southeast."  —  Page  202. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  203 

Hatteras  and  his  companions  wrapped  themselves  up  in  their 
fur  clothes  cut  in  the  Greenland  fashion ;  they  were  not  cut  with 
extraordinary  neatness,  but  they  suited  the  needs  of  the  climate  ; 
their  faces  were  enclosed  in  a  narrow  hood  which  could  not  be 
penetrated  by  the  snow  or  wind ;  their  mouths,  noses,  and  eyes 
were  alone  exposed  to  the  air,  and  they  did  not  need  to  be  pro- 
tected against  it ;  nothing  is  so  inconvenient  as  scarfs  and  nose- 
protectors,  which  soon  are  stiff  with  ice ;  at  night  they  have  to  be 
cut  away,  which,  even  in  the  arctic  seas,  is  a  poor  way  of  un- 
dressing. It  was  necessary  to  leave  free  passage  for  the  breath, 
which  would  freeze  at  once  on  anything  it  met. 

The  boundless  plain  stretched  out  with  tiresome  monotony; 
everywhere  there  appeared  heaped-up  ice-hills,  hummocks,  blocks, 
and  icebergs,  separated  by  winding  valleys ;  they  walked  staff  in 
hand,  saying  but  little.  In  this  cold  atmosphere,  to  open  the 
mouth  was  painful ;  sharp  crystals  of  ice  suddenly  formed  be- 
tween the  lips,  and  the  heat  of  the  breath  could  not  melt  them. 
Their  progress  was  silent,  and  every  one  beat  the  ice  with  his 
staff.  Bell's  footsteps  were  visible  in  the  fresh  snow  ;  they  fol- 
lowed them  mechanically,  and  where  he  had  passed,  the  others 
could  go  safely. 

Numerous  tracks  of  bears  and  foxes  crossed  one  another  every- 
where ;  but  during  this  first  day  not  one  could  be  seen  ;  to  chase 
them  would  have  been  dangerous  and  useless  :  they  would  only 
have  overloaded  the  already  heavy  sledge. 

Generally,  in  excursions  of  this  sort,  travellers  take  the  precau- 
tion of  leaving  supplies  along  their  path ;  they  hide  them  from 
the  animals,  in  the  snow,  thus  lightening  themselves  for  their 
trip,  and  on  their  return  they  take  the  supplies  which  they  did 
not  have  the  trouble  of  canying  with  them. 

Hatteras  could  not  employ  this  device  on  an  ice-field  which 
perhaps  was  moving ;  on  firm  land  it  would  have  been  possible ; 
and  the  uncertainty  of  their  route  made  it  doubtful  whether  they 
would  return  by  the  same  path. 

At  noon,  Hatteras  halted  his  little  troop  in  the  shelter  of  an 
ice-wall ;  they  dined  off  pemmican  and  hot  tea ;  the  strengthen- 
ing qualities  of  this  beverage  produced  general  comfort,  and  the 


204 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


travellers  drank  a  large  quantity.  After  an  hour's  rest  they 
started  on  again;  in  the  first  day  they  walked  about  twenty 
miles ;  that  evening  men  and  dogs  were  tired  out. 

Still,  in  spite  of  their  fatigue,  they  had  to  build  a  snow-house 
in  which  to  pass  the  night ;  the  tent  would  not  have  been  enough. 
This  took  them  an  hour  and  a  half.  Bell  was  very  skilful ;  the 
blocks  of  ice,  which  were  cut  with  a  knife,  were  placed  on  top  of 
one  another  with  astonishing  rapidity,  and  they  took  the  shape 
of  a  dome,  and  a  last  piece,  the  keystone  of  the  arch,  established 
the  solidity  of  the  building ;  the  soft  snow  served  as  mortar  in 
the  interstices ;  it  soon  hardened  and  made  the  whole  building  of 
a  single  piece. 

Access  was  had  into  this  improvised  grotto  by  means  of  a  nar- 
row opening,  through 
which  it  was  neces- 
sary to  crawl  on  one's 
hands  and  knees;  the 
doctor  found  some 
difficulty  in  enter- 
ing, and  the  others 
followed.  Supper  was 
soon  prepared  on  the 
alcohol  cooking-stove. 
The  temperature  in- 
side was  very  comfortable  ;  the  wind,  which  was  raging  without, 
could  not  get  in. 

"  Sit  down  !  "  soon  shouted  the  doctor  in  his  most  genial  man- 
ner. 

And  this  meal,  though  the  same  as  the  dinner,  was  shared  by 
all.  When  it  was  finished  their  only  thought  was  sleep ;  the 
mackintoshes,  spread  out  upon  the  snow,  protected  them  from  the 
dampness.  At  the  flame  of  the  portable  stove  they  dried  their 
clothes ;  then  three  of  them,  wrapped  up  in  their  woollen  cover- 
ings, fell  asleep,  while  one  was  left  on  watch  ;  he  had  to  keep  a 
lookout  on  the  safety  of  all,  and  to  prevent  the  opening  from 
being  closed,  otherwise  they  ran  a  risk  of  being  buried  alive. 
Duke  shared  their  quarters ;  the  other  dogs  remained  without, 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  205 

and  after  they  had  eaten  their  supper  they  lay  down  and  were 
soon  hidden  by  the  snow\ 

Their  fatigue  soon  brought  sound  sleep.  The  doctor  took  the 
watch  until  three  of  the  morning.  In  the  night  the  hurricane 
raged  furiously.  Strange  was  the  situation  of  these  lonely  men 
lost  in  the  snow,  enclosed  in  this  vault  with  its  walls  rapidly 
thickening  under  the  snow-fall. 

The  next  morning  at  six  o'clock  their  monotonous  march  was 
resumed;  there  were  ever  before  them  the  same  valleys  and 
icebergs,  a  uniformity  which  made  the  choice  of  a  path  difficult. 
Still,  a  fall  of  several  degrees  in  the  temperature  made  their  way 
easier  by  hardening  the  snow.  Often  they  came  across  little 
elevations,  which  looked  like  cairns  or  storing-places  of  the  Esqui- 
maux ;  the  doctor  had  one  destroyed  to  satisfy  his  curiosity,  but 
he  found  nothing  except  a  cake  of  ice. 

"What  do  you  expect  to  find,  Clawbonnyl"  asked  Hatteras  ; 
"  are  we  not  the  first  men  to  penetrate  into  this  part  of  the 
globe  % "  * 

"Probably,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  but  who  knows T' 

"  Don't  let  us  waste  our  time  in  useless  searchintr,"  resumed 
the  captain ;  "  I  am  in  a  hurry  to  rejoin  the  ship,  even  if  this 
long-wanted  fuel  should  not  be  found." 

"  I  have  great  hopes  of  finding  it,"  said  the  doctor. 

"  Doctor,"  Hatteras  used  to  say  frequently,  *'  I  did  wrong  to 
leave  the  Forward;  it  was  a  mistake  !  The  captain's  place  is  on 
board,  and  nowhere  else." 

*'  Johnson  is  there." 

I 

"  Yes  !  but  —  let  us  hurry  on  !  " 

They  advanced  rapidly ;  Simpson's  voice  could  be  heard  urging 
on  the  dogs ;  they  ran  along  on  a  brilliant  surface,  all  aglow  with 
a  phosphorescent  light,  and  the  runners  of  the  sledge  seemed  to 
toss  up  a  shower  of  sparks.  The  doctor  ran  on  ahead  to  examine 
this  snow,  when  suddenly,  as  he  was  trying  to  jump  upon  a 
hummock,  he  disappeared  from  sight.  Bell,  who  was.  near  him, 
ran  at  once  towards  the  place. 

"  Well,  Doctor,"  he  cried  anxiously,  while  Hatteras  and  Simpson 
joined  him,  "  where  are  you  1 " 


206  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"  Doctor  !  "  shouted  the  captain. 

"  Down  here,  at  the  bottom  of  a  hole,"  was  the  quiet  answer. 
"  Throw  me  a  piece  of  rope,  and  I  '11  come  up  to  the  surface  of  the 
globe." 

They  threw  a  rope  down  to  the  doctor,  who  was  at  the  bottom 
of  a  pit  about  ten  feet  deep ;  he  fastened  it  about  his  waist,  and 
his  three  companions  drew  him  up  with  some  difficulty. 

"Are  you  hurt  1 "  asked  Hatteras. 

"  No,  there  's  no  harm  done,"  answered  the  doctor,  wiping  the 
snow  from  his  smiling  face. 

"  But  how  did  it  happen^" 

"0,  it  was  in  consequence  of  the  refraction,"  he  answered, 
laughing ;  '*  I  thought  I  had  about  a  foot  to  step  over,  and  I  fell 
into  this  deep  hole  !  These  optical  illusions  are  the  only  ones 
left  me,  my  friends,  and  it  's  hard  to  escape  from  them !  Let 
that  be  a  lesson  to  us  all  never  to  take  a  step  forward  without 
first  testing  the  ice  with  a  staff,  for  our  senses  cannot  be  depended 
on.  Here  our  ears  hear  wrong,  and  our  eyes  deceive  us  !  It 's  a 
curious  country !  " 

"  Can  you  go  on  1 "  asked  the  captain. 

"  Go  on,  Hatteras,  go  on !  This  little  fall  has  done  me  more 
good  than  harm." 

They  resumed  their  march  to  the  southeast,  and  at  evening 
they  halted,  after  walking  about  twenty-five  miles ;  they  were  all 
tired,  but  still  the  doctor  had  energy  enough  to  ascend  an  ice- 
mountain  while  the  snow-hnt  was  building. 

The  moon,  wliich  was  nearly  at  its  full,  shone  with  extraor- 
dinary brilliancy  in  a  clear  sky ;  the  stars  were  wonderfully  bril- 
liant ;  from  the  top  of  the  iceberg  a  boundless  plain  could  be  seen, 
which  was  covered  with  strangely  formed  hillocks  of  ice ;  in  the 
moonlight  they  looked  like  fallen  columns  or  overthrown  tomb- 
stones ;  the  scene  reminded  the  doctor  of  a  huge,  silent  graveyard 
barren  of  trees,  in  which  twenty  generations  of  human  beings 
might  be  lying  in  their  long  sleep. 

In  spite  of  the  cold  and  fatigue,  Clawbonny  remained  for  a 
long  time  in  a  revery,  from  which  it  w^as  no  easy  task  for  his 
companions  to  arouse  him;  but  they  had  to  think  of  resting;  the 


The  doctor  liad  energy  enoiijxh  to  ascend  an  ice-mountain  while  the  snow-hut 
was  building  "  —  Page  206. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


207 


snow-hut  was   completed;    the   four   travellers   crawled    in    like 
moles,  and  soon  were  all  asleep. 

The  following  days  went  on  without  any  particular  incident ; 
at  times  they  went  on  slowly,  at  times  quickly,  with  varying  ease, 
according  to  the  changes  in  the  weather ;  they  wore  moccasins  or 
snow-shoes,  as  the  nature  of  the  ice  demanded. 

In  this  way  they  went  on  till  January  15th ;  the  moon,  now  in 
its  last  quarter,  was  hardly  visible ;  the  sun,  although  always 
beneath  the  horizon,  gave  a  sort  of  twilight  for  six  hours  every 
day,  but  not  enough 
to  light  up  the  route, 
which  had  to  be  di- 
rected by  the  com- 
pass. Then  Bell 
went  on  ahead ;  Hat- 
teras  followed  next ; 
Simpson  and  the  doc- 
tor sought  also  to 
keep  in  a  straight  line 
behind,  with  their 
eyes  on  Hatteras 
alone ;  and  yet,  in  spite  of  all  their  efforts,  they  often  got 
thirty  or  forty  degrees  from  the  right  way,  much  to  their  an- 
noyance. 

Sunday,  January  15th,  Hatteras  judged  that  they  had  come 
about  one  hundred  miles  to  the  south  ;  this  morning  was  set 
aside  to  mending  their  clothes  and  materials;  the  reading  of 
divine  service  was  not  forgotten. 

At  noon  they  started  again ;  the  temperature  was  very  low ; 
the  thermometer  marked  only  — 22° ;  the  air  was  very  clear. 

Suddenly,  without  warning,  a  frozen  vapor  arose  into  the  air 
from  the  ice,  to  a  height  of  about  ninety  feet,  and  hung  motion- 
less ;  no  one  could  see  a  foot  before  him ;  this  vapor  formed  in 
long,  sharp  crystals  upon  their  clothing. 

The  travellers,  surprised  by  this  phenomenon,  which  is  called 
frost-rime,  only  thought  of  getting  together;  so  immediately 
various   shouts  were  heard  :  — 


208  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"0  Simpson!" 

"  Bell,  this  way  !  " 

"  Dr.  Clawboniiy  ! " 
.    ''Doctor!" 

"  Captain,  where  are  yon  1 " 

They  began  to  look  for  one  another  with  outstretched  arms, 
wandering  through  the  fog  which  their  eyes  could  not  pierce. 
But  to  their  disappointment  they  could  hear  no  answer;  the 
vapor  seemed  incapable  of  carrying  sound. 

Each  one  then  thought  of  firing  his  gun  as  a  signal  to  the 
others.  But  if  their  voices  were  too  feeble,  the  reports  of  the 
fire-arms  were  too  loud ;  for  the  echoes,  repeated  in  every  direc- 
tion, made  but  a  confused  roar,  in  which  no  particular  direction 
could  be  perceived. 

Then  they  began  to  act,  each  one  as  he  thought  best.  Hat- 
teras  stood  still  and  folded  his  arms.  Simpson  contented  himself 
with  stopping  the  sledge.  Bell  retraced  his  steps,  feeling  them 
with  his  hand.  The  doctor,  stumbling  over  the  blocks  of  ice, 
wandered  here  and  there,  getting  more  and  more  bewildered. 

At  the  end  of  five  minutes  he  said  to  himself,  — 

"  This  can't  last  long  !  Singular  climate  !  This  is  too  much  ! 
There  is  nothing  to  help  us,  without  speaking  of  these  sharp  crys- 
tals which  cut  my  face.     Halloo,  Captain  ! "  he  shouted  again. 

But  he  heard  no  answer ;  he  fired  his  gun,  but  in  spite  of  his 
thick  gloves  the  iron  burned  his  hands.  Meanwhile  he  thought 
he  saw  a  confused  mass  moving  near  him. 

"  There 's  some  one,"  he  said.  "  Hatteras  !  Bell !  Simpson  !  Is 
that  you  1     Come,  answer  !  " 

A  dull  roar  was  alone  heard. 

"  Ah  !  "  thought  the  doctor,  "  what  is  that  1 " 

The  object  approached ;  it  lost  its  first  size  and  appeared  in 
more  definite  shape.  A  terrible  thought  flashed  into  the  doctor's 
mind. 

"  A  bear  !  "  he  said  to  himself 

In  fact,  it  w^as  a  huge  bear ;  lost  in  the  fog,  it  came  and  went 
with  great  danger  to  the  men,  whose  presence  it  certainly  did 
not  suspect. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  209 

"  Matters  are  growing  complicated ! "  thought  the  doctor, 
standing  still. 

Sometimes  he  felt  the  animal's  breath,  which  was  soon  lost  in 
the  frost-rime ;  again  he  would  see  the  monster's  huge  paws 
beating  the  air  so  near  him  that  his  clothes  were  occasionally- 
torn  by  its  sharp  claws ;  he  jumped  back,  and  the  animal  disap- 
peared like  a  phantasmagoric  spectre. 

But  as  he  sprang  back  he  found  an  elevation  beneath  his  feet ; 
he  climbed  up  first  one  block  of  ice,  then  another,  feeling  his  way 
with  his  staff. 

"An  iceberg !  "  he  said  to  himself;  "  if  I  can  get  to  the  top  I 
am  safe." 


With  these  words  he  climbed  up  an  elevation  of  about  ninety 
feet  with  surprising  agility ;  he  arose  above  the  frozen  mist,  the 
top  of  which  was  sharply  defined. 

"  Good  !  "  he  said  to  himself;  and  looking  about  him  he  saw  his 
three  companions  emerging  from  the  vapor. 

"  Hatteras ! " 

"  Dr.  Clawbonny  !  " 

"  Bell ! " 

*'  Simpson !  " 


210  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT  TEE  AS. 

These  names  were  shouted  out  almost  at  the  same  time ;  the 
sky,  lit  up  by  a  magnificent  halo,  sent  forth  pale  rays  which 
colored  the  frost-rime  as  if  it  were  a  cloud,  and  the  top  of  the 
icebergs  seemed  to  rise  from  a  mass  of  molten  silver.  The  trav- 
ellers found  themselves  within  a  circle  of  less  than  a  hundred 
feet  in  diameter.  Thanks  to  the  purity  of  the  air  in  this  upper 
layer  in  this  low  temperature,  their  words  could  be  easily  heard, 
and  they  were  able  to  talk  on  the  top  of  this  iceberg.  After  the 
first  shots,  each  one,  hearing  no  answer,  had  only  thought  of 
climbing  above  the  mist. 

"  The  sledge  !  "  shouted  the  captain. 

''  It 's  eighty  feet  beneath  us,"  answered  Simpson. 

''  Is  it  all  right  %  " 

"  All  right." 

"  And  the  bear  1 "  asked  the  doctor. 

"What  bear?"  said  Bell. 

"  A  bear !  "  said  Hatteras ;  "  let 's  go  down." 

"No!"  said  the  doctor;  "we  shall  lose  our  way,  and  have  to 
begin  it  all  over  again." 

"  And  if  he  eats  our  dogs  —  "  said  Hatteras. 

kt  that  moment  Duke  was  heard  barking,  the  sound  rising 
through  the  mist. 

"  That 's  Duke  ! "  shouted  Hatteras ;  "  there  's  something  wrong. 
I  'm  going  down." 

All  sorts  of  howling  arose  to  their  ears ;  Duke  and  the  dogs 
were  barking  furiously.  The  noise  sounded  like  a  dull  murmur, 
hke  the  roar  of  a  crowded,  noisy  room.  They  knew  that  some 
invisible  struggle  was  going  on  below,  and  the  mist  was  occasion- 
ally agitated  like  the  sea  when  marine  monsters  are  fighting. 

"  Duke,  Duke !  "  shouted  the  captain,  as  he  made  ready  to 
enter  again  into  the  frost-rime. 

"  Wait.a  moment,  Hatteras,  —  wait  a  moment !  It  seems  to  me 
that  the  fooj  is  lifting." 

It  was  not  lifting,  but  sinking,  like  water  in  a  pool ;  it  appeared 
to  be  descending  into  the  ground  from  which  it  had  risen ;  the 
summits  of  the  icebergs  grew  larger;  others,  which  had  been 
hidden,  arose  like  new  islands ;  by  an  optical  illusion,  which  may 


"  '  Fire  ! '  shouted  the  captain,  discharging  his  piece."  —  Page  an. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  211 

be  easily  imagined,  the  travellers,  clinging  to  these  ice-cones, 
seemed  to  be  rising  in  the  air,  while  the  top  of  the  mist  sank 
beneath  them. 

Soon  the  top  of  the  sledge  appeared,  then  the  harnessed  dogs, 
and  then  about  thirty  other  animals,  then  great  objects  moving 
confusedly,  and  Duke  leaping  about  with  his  head  alternately 
rising  and  sinking  in  the  frozen  mist. 

''  Foxes  !  "  shouted  Bell. 

"  Bears  !  "  said  the  doctor;   "one,  two,  three." 

"  Our  dogs,  our  provisions  !  "  cried  Simpson. 

A  troop  of  foxes  and  bears,  having  come  across  the  sledge,  were 
ravaging  the  provisions.  Their  instinct  of  pillaging  united  them 
in  perfect  harmony ;  the  dogs  were  barking  furiously,  but  the 
animals  paid  no  heed,  but  went  on  in  their  work  of  destruction. 

"  Fire  !  "  shouted  the  captain,  discharging  his  piece. 

His  companions  did  the  same.  But  at  the  combined  report 
the  bears,  raising  their  heads  and  uttering  a  singular  roar,  gave 
the  signal  to  depart ;  they  fell  into  a  little  trot  which  a  gallop- 
ing horse  could  not  have  kept  up  with,  and,  followed  by  the 
foxes,  they  soon  disappeared  amid  the  ice  to  the  north. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

THE    CAIRX. 

This  phenomenon,  which  is  peculiar  to  the  polar  regions,  had 
lasted  three  quarters  of  an  hour ;  the  bears  and  foxes  had  had 
plenty  of  time ;  these  provisions  arrived  opportunely  for  these 
animals,  who  were  nearly  starved  during  the  inclement  weather ; 
the  canvas  cover  of  the  sledge  was  torn  by  their  strong  claws, 
the  casks  of  pemmican  were  opened  and  emptied  ;  the  biscuit- 
sacks  pillaged,  the  tea  spilled  over  the  snow,  a  barrel  of  alcohol 
torn  open  and  its  contents  lost,  their  camping  materials  scattered 
and  damaged,  bore  witness  to  the  ferocity  of  these  wild  beasts, 
and  their  greediness. 


212  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

''  This  is  a  misfortune,"  said  Bell,  gazing  at  this  scene  of  ruin. 

"  Which  is  probably  irreparable,"  said  Simpson. 

"Let  us  first  estimate  the  loss,"  interrupted  the  doctor,  "and 
we  '11  talk  about  it  afterwards." 

Hatteras,  without  saying  a  w^ord,  began  to  gather  the  scattered 
boxes  and  sacks ;  they  collected  the  pemmican  and  biscuits  which 
could  be  eaten ;  the  loss  of  part  of  their  alcohol  was  much  to  be 
regretted ;  for  if  that  was  gone  there  would  be  nothing  warm  to 
drink  ;  no  tea,  no  coffee.  In  making  an  inventory  of  the  supplies 
left,  the  doctor  found  two  hundred  pounds  of  pemmican  gone,  and 
a  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  biscuit ;  if  their  journey  continued 
they  would  have  to  subsist  on  half-rations. 

They  then  began  to  discuss  what  should  be  done,  whether  they 
should  return  to  the  ship  and  start  out  again.  But  how  could 
they  make  up  their  minds  to  lose  the  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
they  had  already  made  1  To  return  without  fuel  would  have  a 
depressing  effect  upon  the  spirits  of  the  crew.  Could  men  be 
found  again  to  resume  their  march  across  the  icel 

Evidently  it  was  better  to  push  on,  even  at  the  risk  of  severe 
privations. 

The  doctor,  Hatteras,  and  Bell  were  of  this  opinion ;  Simpson 
wanted  to  go  back  ;  the  fatigue  of  the  journey  had  worn  upon  his 
health ;  he  was  visibly  weaker ;  but  finding  himself  alone  of  this 
opinion,  he  resumed  his  place  at  the  head  of  the  sledge,  and  the 
little  caravan  continued  its  journey  to  the  south. 

During  the  three  next  days,  from  the  15th  to  the  17th  of  Jan- 
uary, all  the  monotonous  incidents  of  the  voyage  were  repeated ; 
they  advanced  more  slowly,  and  with  much  fatigue ;  their  legs 
grew  tired;  the  dogs  dragged  the  sledge  with  difficulty;  their 
diminished  supply  of  food  could  not  comfort  men  or  beasts.  The 
weather  was  very  variable,  changing  from  intense,  dry  cold  to 
damp,  penetrating  mists. 

January  18th  the  aspect  of  the  ice-fields  changed  suddenly;  a 
great  number  of  peaks,  like  sharp-pointed  pyramids,  and  very 
high,  appeared  at  the  horizon  ;  the  ground  in  certain  places  came 
through  the  snow ;  it  seemed  formed  of  gneiss,  schist,  and  quartz, 
with  some  appearance  of  limestone.     The  travellers  at  last  touched 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  213 

earth  again,  and  this  land  they  judged  to  be  that  called  North 
Cornwall. 

The  doctor  could  not  help  striking  the  earth  with  joy ;  they 
had  now  only  a  hundred  miles  to  go  before  reaching  Cape  Belcher, 
but  their  fatigue  increased  strangely  on  this  soil,  covered  with 
sharp  rocks,  and  interspersed  with  dangerous  points,  crevasses, 
and  precipices;  they  had  to  go  down  into  the  depths  of  these 
abysses,  climb  steep  ascents,  and  cross  narrow  gorges,  in  which 
the  snow  was  drifted  to  the  depth  of  thirty  or  forty  feet. 


The  travellers  soon  regretted  the  almost  easy  journey  over  the 
ice-fields,  which  so  well  suited  the  sledge  ;  now  it  had  to  be 
dragged  by  main  force ;  the  weary  dogs  were  insufficient ;  the 
men,  compelled  to  take  their  place  alongside  of  them,  wore  them- 
selves out  with  hauling ;  often  they  had  to  take  off  the  whole 
load  to  get  over  some  steep  hills ;  a  place  only  ten  feet  wide  often 
kept  them  busy  for  hours ;  so  in  this  first  day  they  made  only 
five  miles  in  North  Cornwall,  which  is  certainly  w^ell  named,  for 
it  exhibits  all  the  roughness,  the  sharp  points,  the  steep  gorges, 
the  confused  rockiness,  of  the  southwest  coast  of  England. 

The  next  day  the  sledge  reached  the  top  of  the  hills  near  the 
shore;  the  exhausted  travellers,  being  unable  to  make  a  snow- 


214 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


hut,  were  obliged  to  pass  the  night  under  the  tent,  wrapped  up 
in  buffalo-skins,  and  drying  their  wet  stockings  by  placing  them 
about  their  bodies.  The  inevitable  consequences  of  such  conduct 
are  easily  comprehended ;  that  night  the  thermometer  fell  below 
— 44°,  and  the  mercury  froze. 

Simpson's  health  caused  great  anxiety  :  a  persistent  congh, 
violent  rheumatism,  and  intolerable  pain  obliged  him  to  lie  on  the 
sledge  which  he  could  no  longer  guide.  Bell  took  his  place  ;  he 
too  was  suffering,  but  not  so  much  as  to  be  incapacitated.  The 
doctor  also  felt  the  consequences  of  this  trip  in  this  terrible 
weather ;  but  he  uttered  no  complaint ;  he  walked  on,  resting  on 
his  staff ;  he  made  out  the  way  and  helped  every  one.  Hatteras, 
impassible,  and  as  strong  as  on  the  first  day,  followed  the  sledge 
in  silence. 

January  20th  the  weather  was  so  severe  that  the  slightest 
effort  produced  complete  prostration.  Still,  the  difficulties  of  the 
way  were  so  great,  that  Hatteras,  the  doctor,  and  Bell  harnessed 
themselves  with  the  dogs ;  sudden  shocks  had  broken  the  front 
of  the  sledge,  and  they  had  to  stop  to  repair  it.  Such  delays 
were  frequent  every  day. 

The  travellers  followed  a  deep  ravine,  up  to  their  waists  in 
snow,  and  perspiring  violently  in  spite  of  the  intense  cold.     They 

did  not  say  a  word. 
Suddenly  Bell,  who 
was  near  the  doctor, 
looked  at  him  with 
some  alarm  ;  then, 
without  uttering  a 
word,  he  picked  up 
.  a  handful  of  snow 
and  began  rubbing 
his  companion's  face 
violently. 

"  Well,  Bell !  "  said  the  doctor,  resisting. 
But  Bell  continued  rubbinsf. 

"■  Come,  Bell,"  began  the  doctor  again,  his  mouth,  nose,  and 
eyes  full  of  snow,  ''are  you  mad?     What  's  the  matter?" 


TEE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  215 

"If  you  have  a  nose  left,"  answered  Bell,  "you  ought  to  be 
grateful  to  me." 

"  A  nose  !  "  answered  the  doctor,  quickly,  clapping  his  hand  to 
his  face. 

"  Yes,  Doctor,  you  were  frost-bitten  ;  your  nose  was  white 
when  I  looked  at  you,  and  if  I  had  not  done  as  I  did,  you  would 
have  lost  that  ornament  which  is  in  the  way  on  a  journey,  but 
agreeable  to  one's  existence." 

In  fact,  the  doctor's  nose  was  almost  frozen  ;  the  circulation  of 
the  blood  was  restored  in  time,  and,  thanks  to  Bell,  all  danger  was 
gone. 

"Thanks,    Bell!"   said  the  doctor;   "I'll  be  even  with  you 

yet." 

"  I  hope  so.  Doctor,"  the  carpenter  answered ;  "  and  may  Heaven 
protect  us  from  worse  misfortunes  ! " 

"Alas,  Bell,"  continued  the  doctor,  "you  mean  Simpson !  The 
poor  fellow  is  suffering  terribly." 

"  Do  you  fear  for  his  life  ?  "  asked  Hatteras,  quickly. 

"  Yes,  Captain,"  answered  the  doctor. 

"And  why r' 

"  He  has  a  violent  attack  of  scurvy ;  his  legs  have  begun  to 
swell,  and  his  gums  too ;  the  poor  fellow  lies  half  frozen  on  the 
sledge,  and  every  movement  redoubles  his  suff'ering.  I  pity  him, 
Hatteras,  and  I  can't  do  anything  to  relieve  him." 

"  Poor  Simpson  !  "  murmured  Bell. 

"  Perhaps  we  shall  have  to  halt  for  a  day  or  two,"  resumed  the 
doctor. 

"Halt !"  shouted  Hatteras,  "when  the  lives  of  eighteen  men 
are  hanging  on  our  return  !  " 

"  Still  —  "  said  the  doctor. 

"  Clawbonny,  Bell,  listen  to  me,"  said  Hatteras  ;  "  we  have  food 
for  only  twenty  days  !  Judge  for  yourselves  whether  we  can  stop 
for  a  moment !  " 

Neither  the  doctor  nor  Bell  made  any  reply,  and  the  sledge 
resumed  its  progress,  which  had  been  delayed  for  a  moment. 
That  evening  they  stopped  beneath  a  hillock  of  ice,  in  which  Bell 
at  once  cut  a  cavern ;  the  travellers  entered  it ;  the  doctor  passed 


216 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


the  night  attending  to  Simpson ;  the  scurvy  had  already  made 
fearful  ravages,  and  his  sufferings  caused  perpetual  laments  to 
issue  from  his  swollen  lips. 

"  Ah,  Dr.  Clawbonny  !  " 

"  Courage,  my  dear  fellow  !  "  said  the  doctor. 

"  I  shall  never  get  well !     I  feel  it !     I  'd  rather  die  !  " 

The  doctor  answered  these  despairing  words  by  incessant  cares ; 
although  worn  out  by  the  fatigue  of  the  day,  he  spent  the  night 
in  composing  a  soothing  potion  for  his  patient;  but  the  lime-juice 
was  ineffectual,  and  continual  friction  could  not  keep  down  the 
progress  of  the  scurvy. 


The  next  day  he  had  to  be  placed  again  upon  the  sledge, 
although  he  besought  them  to  leave  him  behind  to  die  in  peace  ; 
then  they  resumed  their  dreary  and  difficult  march. 

The  frozen  mists  penetrated  the  three  men  to  the  bone  ;  the 
snow  and  sleet  dashed  against  them  ;  they  were  working  like 
draught-horses,  and  with  a  scanty  supply  of  food. 

Duke,  like  his  master,  kept  coming  and  going,  enduring  every 
fatigue,  always  alert,  finding  out  by  himself  the  best  path ;  they 
had  perfect  confidence  in  his  wonderful  instinct. 

During  the  morning  of  January  23d,  amid  almost  total  dark- 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  217 

ness,  for  the  moon  was  new,  Duke  had  run  on  ahead  ;  for  many- 
hours  he  was  not  seen;  Hatteras  became 'uneasy,  especially  be- 
cause there  were  many  traces  of  bears  to  be  seen ;  he  was  uncer- 
tain what  to  do,  when  suddenly  a  loud  barking  was  heard. 

Hatteras  urged  on  the  sledge,  and  soon  he  found  the  faithful 
animal  at  the  bottom  of  a  ravine.  Duke  stood  as  motionless  as 
if  turned  to  stone,  barking  before  a  sort  of  cairn  made  of  pieces 
of  limestone,  covered  with  a  cement  of  ice. 

"  This  time,"  said  the  doctor,  detaching  his  harness,  ''  it 's  a 
cairn,  there  's  no  doubt  of  that." 

"  What 's  that  to  us  ] "  asked  Hatteras. 

"  Hatteras,  if  it  is  a  cairn,  it  may  contain  some  document  of 
value  for  us;  perhaps  some  provisions,  and  it  would  be  worth 
while  to  see." 

"  What  European  could  have  come  as  far  as  this  % "  asked  Hat- 
teras, shrugging  his  shoulders. 

"But  in  lack  of  Europeans,"  answered  the  doctor,  "cannot 
Esquimaux  have  made  it  here  to  contain  what  they  have  fished 
or  shot  1     It 's  their  habit,  I  think." 

"Well,  go  and  look  at  it,"  continued  Hatteras;  "but  I'm 
afraid  it  will  be  hardly  worth  your  while." 

Clawbonny  and  Bell  walked  to  the  cairn  with  picks  in  their 
hands.  Duke  continued  barking  furiously.  The  limestones  were 
firmly  fastened  together  by  the  ice ;  but  a  few  blows  scattered 
them  on  the  ground. 

"  There  's  something  there,  evidently,"  said  the  doctor. 

"  I  think  so,"  answered  Bell. 

They  rapidly  destroyed  the  cairn.  Soon  they  found  a  bundle 
and  in  it  a  damp  paper.  The  doctor  took  it  with  a  beating  heart. 
Hatteras  ran  forward,  seized  the  paper,  and  read  :  — 

"Altam  ....  Porpoise,  December  13,  1860,  longitude  12°, 
latitude  8°  35'." 

"  The  Porpoise  ?  "  said  the  doctor. 

"  The  Porpoise  !  "  replied  Hatteras.  "  I  never  heard  of  a  ship 
of  this  name  in  these  seas." 

"It  is  clear,"  resumed  the  doctor,    "that  travellers,  perhaps 
shipwrecked  sailors,  have  been  here  within  two  months." 
10 


218  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  H ATT  ERAS. 

"  That  is  sure,"  said  Bell. 

"  What  are  we  going  to  do  %  "  asked  the  doctor. 

"  Push  on,"  answered  Hatteras,  coldly.  "  I  don't  know  any- 
thing about  any  ship  called  the  Porjyolse,  but  I  know  that  the 
brig  Forward  is  waiting  for  our  return." 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

THE    DEATH    OF    SIMPSON. 

They  resumed  their  journey ;  the  mind  of  every  one  was  filled 
with  new  and  unexpected  ideas,  for  to  meet  any  one  in  these 
regions  is  about  the  most  remarkable  event  that  can  happen. 
Hatteras  frowned  uneasily. 

"The  PoyyoiseT'  he  kept  saying  to  himself;  "what  ship  is 
that '?     And  what  is  it  doing  so  near  the  Pole  % " 

At  the  thought,  he  shuddered.  The  doctor  and  Bell  only 
thought  of  the  two  results  which  might  follow  the  discovery  of 
this  document,  that  they  might  be  of  service  in  saving  some  one, 
or,  possibly,  that  they  might  be  saved  by  them.  But  the  diffi- 
culties, obstacles,  and  dangers  soon  returned,  and  they  could  only 
think  of  their  perilous  position. 

Simpson's  condition  grew  worse ;  the  doctor  could  not  be  mis- 
taken about  the  symptoms  of  a  speedy  death.  He  could  do 
nothing;  he  was  himself  suffering  from  a  painful  ophthalmia, 
which  might  be  accompanied  by  deafness  if  he  did  not  take  care. 
The  twilight  at  that  time  gave  light  enough,  and  this  light, 
reflected  by  the  snow,  was  bad  for  the  eyes ;  it  was  hard  to  pro- 
tect them  from  the  reflection,  for  glasses  would  be  soon  covered 
with  a  layer  of  ice  which  rendered  them  useless.  Hence  they 
had  to  guard  carefully  against  accident  by  the  way,  and  they  had 
to  run  the  risk  of  ophthalmia ;  still,  the  doctor  and  Bell  covered 
their  eyes  and  took  turns  in  guiding  the  sledge.  It  ran  far  from 
smoothly  on  its  worn  runners ;  it  became  harder  and  harder  to 
drag  it ;  their  path  grew  more  difficult  \  the  land  was  of  volcanic 


"^ioitmAmo 


"They  could  only  think  of  their  perilous  position."  —  Page  218. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


219 


origin,  and  all  cut  up  with  craters ;  the  travellers  had  been  com- 
pelled gradually  to  ascend  fifteen  hundred  feet  to  reach  the  top 
of  the  mountains.  The  temperature  was  lower,  the  storms  were 
more  violent,  and  it  was  a  sorry  sight  to  see  these  poor  men  on 
these  lonely  peaks. 


They  were  also  made  sick  by  the  whiteness  of  everything ;  the 
uniform  brilliancy  tired  them ;  it  made  them  giddy ;  the  earth 
seemed  to  wave  beneath  their  feet  with  no  fixed  point  on  the  im- 
mense white  surface ;  they  felt  as  one  does  on  shipboard  when 
the  deck  seems  to  be  giving  way  beneath  the  foot ;  they  could 
not  get  over  the  impression,  and  the  persistence  of  the  feeling 
wearied  their  heads.  Their  limbs  grew  torpid,  their  minds  grew 
dull,  and  often  they  walked  like  men  half  asleep ;  then  a  slip  or 
a  sudden  fall  would  rouse  them  for  a  few  moments  from  their 
sluggishness. 

January  25th  they  began  to  descend  the  steep  slopes,  which 
was  even  more  fatiguing  ;  a  false  step,  which  it  was  by  no  means 
easy  to  avoid,  might  hurl  them  down  into  deep  ravines  where* 
they  would  certainly  have  perished.  Towards  evening  a  violent 
tempest  raged  about  the  snowy  summit ;  it  was  impossible  to 
withstand  the  force  of  the  hurricane;  they  had  to  lie  down  on 


220 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


the  ground,  but  so  low  was  the  temperature  that  they  ran  a  risk 
of  being  frozen  to  death  at  once. 

Bell,  with  Hatteras's  aid,  built  with  much  difficulty  a  snow- 
house,  in  which  the  poor  men  sought  shelter ;  there  they  partook 
of  a  few  fragments  of  pemmican  and  a  little  hot  tea ;  only  four 
gallons  of  alcohol  were  left ;  and  they  had  to  use  this  to  allay 
their  thirst,  for  snow  cannot  be  absorbed  if  taken  in  its  natural 
state ;  it  has  to  be  melted  first.  In  the  temperate  zone,  where 
the  cold  hardly  ever  sinks  much  below  the  freezing-point,  it  can 
do  no  harm;  but  beyond  the  Polar  Circle  it  is  different;  it 
reaches  so  low  a  temperature  that  the  bare  hand  can  no  more 
touch  it  than  it  can  iron  at  a  white  heat,  and  this,  although  it  is 
a  very  poor  conductor  of  heat ;  so  great  is  the  difference  of  tem- 
perature between  it  and  the  stomach  that  its  absorption  produces 
real  suffocation.  The  Esquimaux  prefer  severe  thirst  to  quench- 
ing it  with  this  snow,  which  does  not  replace  water,  and  only  aug- 
ments the  thirst  instead  of  appeasing  it.  The  only  way  the  trav- 
ellers could  make  use  of  it  was  by  melting  it  over  the  spirit- 
lamp. 

At  three  in  the  morning,  when  the  tempest  was  at  its  height, 
the  doctor  took  his  turn  at  the  watch  ;  he  was  lying  in  a  corner 

of  the   hut  when  a 
groan     of     distress 
from     Simpson     at- 
tracted   his    atten- 
tion ;     he    arose    to 
see  to  him,   but   in 
rising  he  hit  his  head 
sharply  against  the 
icy    roof;     without 
paying    any    atten- 
tion to  that,  he  bent 
over    Simpson    and 
l)egan  to  rub  his  swollen,  discolored  legs ;  after  doing  this  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  he  started  to  rise,  and  bumped  his  head  again, 
although  he  was  on  his  knees. 
"That 's  odd,"  he  said  to  himself. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE. 


221 


He  raised  his  hand  above  his  head ;  the  roof  was  perceptibly 
sinking. 

''  Great  God  ! "  he  cried  ;  "  wake  up,  my  friends  !  " 

At  his  shouts  Hatteras  and  Bell  arose  quickly,  striking  their 
heads  against  the  roof;  they  were  in  total  darkness. 

'^  We  shall  be  crushed  !  "  said  the  doctor ;  "  let 's  get  out !  " 

And  all  three,  dragging  Simpson  after  them,  abandoned  their 
dangerous  quarters ;  and  it  was  high  time,  for  the  blocks  of  ice, 
ill  put  together,  fell  with  a  loud  crash. 

The  poor  men  found  themselves  then  without  shelter  against 
the  hurricane.  Hatteras  attempted  to  raise  the  tent,  but  it  was 
impossible,  so  severe  was  the  wind,  and  they  had  to  shelter  them- 
selves beneath  the  canvas,  which  was  soon  covered  with  a  thick 
layer  of  snow;  but  this  snow  prevented  the  radiation  of  their 
warmth  and  kept  them  from  being  frozen  to  death. 

The  storm  lasted  all  night ;  Bell,  when  he  was  harnessing  the 
half-starved  dogs,  noticed  that  three  of  them  had  begun  to  eat 
the  leather  straps ;  two  were  very  sick  and  seemed  unable  to  go 
on.  Still,  they  set  out  as  well  as  they  could ;  they  had  sixty 
miles  between  them  and  the  point  they  wished  to  reach. 

On  the  26th,  Bell,  who  was  ahead,  shouted  suddenly  to  his  com- 
panions. They  ran 
towards  him,  and  he 
pointed  with  aston- 
ishment to  a  gun 
resting  on  a  piece  of 
ice. 

"  A  g\m  ! "  cried 
the  doctor. 

Hatteras  took  it ; 
it  was  in  good  con- 
dition, and  loaded. 

''The  men  of  the  Porpoise  can't  be  far  off." 

Hatteras,  as  he  was  examining  the  gun,  noticed  that  it  was  of 
American  make ;  his  hands  clinched  nervously  its  barrel. 

"  Forward  !  "  he  said  calmly. 

They  continued  to  descend  the  mountains.  Simpson  seemed 
deprived  of  all  feeling ;  he  had  not  even  strength  left  to  moan. 


^22  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

The  tempest  continued  to  rage ;  the  sledge  went  on  more  and 
more  slowly ;  they  made  but  a  few  miles  in  twenty-four  hours, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  strictest  economy,  their  supplies  threatened 
to  give  out ;  but  so  long  as  enough  was  left  to  carry  them  back, 
Hatteras  pushed  on. 

On  the  27th  they  found,  partly  buried  beneath  the  snow,  a  sex- 
tant and  then  a  flask,  which  contained  brandy,  or  rather  a  piece 
of  ice,  in  the  middle  of  which  all  the  spirit  of  the  liquor  had  col- 
lected in  the  form  of  snow ;  it  was  of  no  use. 

Evidently,  without  meaning  it,  Hatteras  was  following  in  the 
wake  of  some  great  disaster;  he  went  on  by  the  only  possible 
route,  collecting  the  traces  of  some  terrible  shipwreck.  The 
doctor  kept  a  sharp  lookout  for  other  cairns,  but  in  vain. 

Sad  thoughts  beset  him :  in  fact,  if  he  should  discover  these 
wretches,  of  what  service  could  he  be  to  them  1  He  and  his  com- 
panions were  beginning  to  lack  everything ;  their  clothing  was 
torn,  their  supplies  were  scanty.  If  the  survivors  were  many, 
they  would  all  starve  to  death.  Hatteras  seemed  inclined  to  flee 
from  them  !  Was  he  not  justified,  since  the  safety  of  the  crew 
depended  upon  him  1  Ought  he  to  endanger  the  safety  of  all  by 
bringing  strangers  on  board  % 

But  then  strangers  were  men,  perhaps  their  countrymen ! 
Slight  as  was  their  chance  of  safety,  ought  they  to  be  deprived 
of  it  1  The  doctor  wanted  to  get  Bell's  opinion  ;  but  Bell  refused 
to  answer.  His  own  sufferings  had  hardened  his  heart.  Claw- 
bonny  did  not  dare  ask  Hatteras  :  so  he  sought  aid  from  Provi- 
dence. 

Towards  the  evening  of  that  day,  Simpson  appeared  to  be  fail- 
ing fast ;  his  cold,  stiff"  limbs,  his  impeded  breathing,  which 
fonned  a  mist  about  his  head,  his  convulsive  movements,  an- 
nounced that  his  last  hour  had  come.  His  expression  was  ter- 
rible to  behold ;  it  was  despairing,  with  a  look  of  impotent  rage 
at  the  captain.  It  contained  a  whole  accusation,  mute  reproaches 
which  were  full  of  meaning,  and  perhaps  deserved. 

Hatteras  did  not  go  near  the  dying  man.  He  avoided  him, 
more  silent,  more  shut  into  himself  than  ever ! 

The  following  night  was  a  terrible  one ;   the  violence  of  the 


"  Suddenly,  with  a  last  effort,  he  half  rose."  —  Page  223. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  223 

tempest  was  doubled ;  three  times  the  tent  was  thrown  over,  and 
snow  was  blown  over  the  suffering  men,  blinding  them,  and 
wounding  them  with  the  pieces  torn  from  the  neighboring  masses. 
The  dogs  barked  incessantly.  Simpson  was  exposed  to  all  the  in- 
clemency of  the  weather.  Bell  succeeded  in  again  raising  the 
canvas,  which,  if  it  did  not  protect  them  from  the  cold,  at  least 
kept  off  the  snow.  But  a  sudden  squall  blew  it  down  for  the 
fourth  time  and  carried  it  away  with  a  fierce  blast. 

*' Ah,  that  is  too  much !  "  shouted  Bell. 

"  Courage,  courage ! "  answered  the  doctor,  stooping  down  to 
escape  being  blown  away. 

Simpson  was  gasping  for  breath.  Suddenly,  with  a  last  effort, 
he  half  rose,  stretched  his  clinched  fist  at  Hatteras,  who  was 
gazing  steadily  at  him,  uttered  a  heart-rending  cry,  and  fell  back 
dead  in  the  midst  of  his  unfinished  threat. 

"  Dead ! "  said  the  doctor. 

"  Dead !  "  repeated  Bell. 

Hatteras,  who  was  approaching  the  corpse,  drew  back  before 
the  violence  of  the  wind. 

He  was  the  first  of  the  crew  who  succumbed  to  the  murderous 
climate,  the  first  to  offer  up  his  life,  after  incalculable  sufferings, 
to  the  captain's  persistent  obstinacy.  This  man  had  considered 
him  an  assassin,  but  Hatteras  did  not  quail  before  the  accusation. 
But  a  tear,  falling  from  his  eyes,  froze  on  his  pale  cheek. 

The  doctor  and  Bell  looked  at  him  in  terror.  Supported  by 
his  long  staff,  he  seemed  like  the  genius  of  these  regions,  straight 
in  the  midst  of  the  fierce  blast,  and  terrible  in  his  stern  severity. 

He  remained  standing,  without  stirring,  till  the  first  rays  of 
the  twilight  appeared,  bold  and  unconquerable,  and  seeming  to 
defy  the  tempest  which  was  roaring  about  him. 


224 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

THE   RETURN    TO    THE    FORWARD. 

Toward  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  wind  fell,  and,  shifting 
suddenly  to  the  north,  it  cleared  the  clouds  from  the  sky ;  the 
thermometer  stood  at  — 33°.  The  first  rays  of  the  twilight 
appeared  on  the  horizon  above  which  it  would  soon  peer. 


Hatteras  approached  his  two  dejected  companions  and  said  to 
them,  sadly  and  gently,  — 

"  My  friends,  we  are  more  than  sixty  miles  from  the  point  men- 
tioned by  Sir  Edward  Belcher.  We  have  only  just  enough  food 
left  to  take  us  back  to  the  ship.  To  go  farther  would  only  ex- 
pose us  to  certain  death,  without  our  being  of  service  to  any  one. 
We  must  return." 

"  That  is  a  wise  decision,  Hatteras,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  I 
should  have  followed  you  anywhere,  but  we  are  all  growing 
weaker  every  day  ;  we  can  hardly  set  one  foot  before  the  other ; 
I  approve  of  returning." 


TEE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE. 


225 


"  Is  that  your  opinion,  Bell  % "  asked  Hatteras. 

"  Yes,  Captain,"  answered  the  carpenter. 

"  Well,"  continued  Hatteras,  "  we  will  take  two  days  for  rest. 
That 's  not  too  much.  The  sledge  needs  a  great  many  repairs. 
I  think,  too,  we  ought  to  build  a  snow-house  in  which  we  can 
repose." 

This  being  decided,  the  three  men  set  to  work  energetically. 
Bell  took  the  necessary  precautions  to  insure  the  solidity  of  the 
building,  and  soon  a  satisfactory  retreat  arose  at  the  bottom  of 
the  ravine  where  thev  had  last  halted. 


»«i*i"U-^ 


It  was  doubtless  after  a  hard  struggle  that  Hatteras  had  de- 
cided to  discontinue  his  journey.  So  much  effort  and  fatigue 
thrown  away !  A  useless  trip,  entailing  the  death  of  one  of  his 
men !  To  return  without  a  scrap  of  coal :  what  would  the  crew 
nay  1  What  might  it  not  do  under  the  lead  of  Shandon  %  But 
Hatteras  could  not  continue  the  struggle  any  longer. 

He  gave  all  his  attention  to  their  preparations  for  returning ; 
the  sledge  was  repaired ;  its  load,  too,  had  become  much  lighter, 
and  only  weighed  two  hundred  pounds.  They  mended  their 
worn-out,  torn  clothes,  all  soaked  through  and  through  by  the 
snow ;  new  moccasins  and  snow-shoes  replaced  those  which  were 
10*  o 


226  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

no  longer  serviceable.  This  kept  them  busy  the  whole  of  the 
29th  and  the  morning  of  the  30th ;  then  they  all  sought  what 
rest  they  could  get,  and  prepared  for  what  was  before  them. 

During  the  thirty-six  hours  spent  in  or  near  the  snow-house, 
the  doctor  had  been  noticing  Duke,  whose  singular  behavior  did 
not  seem  to  him  to  be  natural ;  the  dog  kept  going  in  circles 
which  seemed  to  have  a  common  centre ;  there  was  a  sort  of  ele- 
vation in  the  soil,  produced  by  accumulated  layers  of  ice ;  Duke, 
as  he  ran  around  this  place,  kept  barking  gently  and  wagging  his 
tail  impatiently,  looking  at  his  master  as  if  asking  something. 

The  doctor,  after  reflecting  a  moment,  ascribed  this  uneasiness 
to  the  presence  of  Simpson's  corpse,  which  his  companions  had  not 
yet  had  time  to  bury.  Hence  he  resolved  to  proceed  to  this  sad 
ceremony  on  that  very  day  ;  the  next  morning  they  were  to  start. 
Bell  and  the  doctor,  picks  in  hand,  went  to  the  bottom  of  the 
ravine  ;  the  elevation  which  Duke  had  noticed  offered  a  suitable 
place  for  the  grave,  which  would  have  to  be  dug  deep  to  escape 
the  bears. 

The  doctor  and  Bell  began  by  removing  the  soft  snow,  then 
they  attacked  the  solid  ice ;  at  the  third  blow  of  his  pick  the 
doctor  struck  against  some  hard  body ;  he  picked  up  the  pieces 
and  found  them  the  fragments  of  a  glass  bottle.  Bell  brought 
to  light  a  stiffened  bag,  in  which  were  a  few  crumbs  of  fresh 
biscuit. 

"  What 's  this  ^ "  said  the  doctor. 

"What  can  it  bel"  asked  Bell,  stopping  his  work. 

The  doctor  called  to  Hatteras,  who  came  at  once. 

Duke  barked  violently,  and  with  his  paws  tried  to  tear  up  the 
ice. 

"  Have  we  by  any  possibility  come  across  a  supply  of  provis- 
ions 1 "  said  the  doctor. 

"  It  looks  like  it,"  answered  Bell. 

"  Go  on  !  "  said  Hatteras. 

A  few  bits  of  food  were  found  and  a  box  quarter  full  of  pem- 
mican. 

"  If  we  have,"  said  Hatteras,  "  the  bears  have  visited  it  before 
we  did.     See,  these  provisions  have  been  touched  already." 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  227 

"It  is  to  be  feared,"  answered  the  doctor,  "for  —  " 

He  did  not  finish  his  sentence ;  a  cry  from  Bell  interrupted 
him;  he  had  turned  over  a  tolerably  large  piece  of  ice  and 
showed  a  stiff,  frozen  human  leg  in  the  ice. 

"  A  corpse  ! "  cried  the  doctor. 

"  It 's  a  grave,"  said  Hatteras. 

It  was  the  body  of  a  sailor  about  thirty  years  old,  in  a 
perfect  state  of  preservation  ;  he  wore  the  usual  dress  of  Arc- 
tic sailors;  the  doctor  could  not  say  how  long  he  had  been 
dead. 

After  this,  Bell  found  another  corpse,  that  of  a  man  of  fifty, 
exhibiting  traces  of  the  sufferings  that  had  killed  him. 


"  They  were  never  buried,"  cried  the  doctor ;  "  these  poor  men 
were  surprised  by  death  as  we  find  them." 

"  You  are  right.  Doctor,"  said  Bell. 

"  Go  on,  go  on  !  "  said  Hatteras. 

Bell  hardly  djired.  Who  could  say  how  many  corpses  lay 
hidden  here  1 

"  They  were  the  victims  of  just  such  an  accident  as  we  nearly 
perished  by,"  said  the  doctor  ;  "  their  snow-house  fell  in.  Let  us 
see  if  one  may  not  be  breathing  yet !  " 


228 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


The  place  was  rapidly  cleared  away,  and  Bell  brought  up  a 
third  body,  that  of  a  man  of  forty ;  he  looked  less  like  a  corpse 
than  the  others ;  the  doctor  bent  over  him  and  thought  he  saw 
some  signs  of  life. 

"  He  's  alive  ! "  he  shouted. 

Bell  and  he  carried  this  body  into  the  snow-house,  while  Hat- 
teras  stood  in  silence,  gazing  at  the  sunken  dwelling. 


The  doctor  stripped  the  body  ;  it  bore  no  signs  of  injury  ;  with 
Bell's  aid  he  rubbed  it  vigorously  with  tow  dipped  in  alcohol, 
and  he  saw  life  gradually  reviving  within  it ;  but  the  man  was 
in  a  state  of  complete  prostration,  and  unable  to  speak ;  his 
tongue  clove  to  his  palate  as  if  it  were  frozen. 

The  doctor  examined  his  patient's  pockets ;  they  were  empty. 
No  paper.  He  let  Bell  continue  rubbing,  and  went  out  to 
Hatteras. 

He  found  him  in  the  ruined  snow-house,  clearing  away  the 
floor ;  soon  he  came  out,  bearing  a  half-burned  piece  of  an  enve- 
lope.    A  few  words  could  be  deciphered  :  — 

....  tatriont 

....  orpoise 
.  .  .  .  w  York. 


THE  ENGLISH  AT   THE  NORTH  POLE.  229 

"Altamont!"  shouted  the  doctor,  "of  the  Porpoise!  of  New 
York ! " 

"  An  American  !  "  said  Hatteras. 

"  I  shall  save  him,"  said  the  doctor ;  "  I  '11  answer  for  it,  and 
we  shall  find  out  the  explanation  of  this  puzzle." 

He  returned  to  Altamont,  while  Hatteras  remained  pensive. 
The  doctor  succeeded  in  recalling  the  unfortunate  man  to  life, 
but  not  to  consciousness ;  he  neither  saw,  heard,  nor  spoke,  but 
at  any  rate  he  was  alive  ! 

The  next  morning  Hatteras  said  to  the  doctor,  — 

"We  must  start." 

"All  right,  Hatteras  !  The  sledge  is  not  loaded ;  we  shall  carry 
this  poor  fellow  back  to  the  ship  with  us. 

"Very  well,"  said  Hatteras.  "But  first  let  us  bury  these 
corpses." 

The  two  unknown  sailors  were  placed  beneath  the  ruins  of  the 
snow-house ;  Simpson's  body  took  the  place  of  Altamont's. 

The  three  travellers  uttered  a  short  prayer  over  their  com- 
panion, and  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  they  set  off  again 
for  the  ship. 

Two  of  the  dogs  were  dead.  Duke  volunteered  to  drag  the 
sledge,  and  he  worked  as  resolutely  as  a  Greenland  dog. 

For  twenty  days,  from  January  31st  to  February  19th,  the  re- 
turn was  very  much  like  the  first  part  of  the  journey.  Save  that 
it  was  in  the  month  of  February,  the  coldest  of  the  whole  year, 
and  the  ice  was  harder;  the  travellers  suffered  terribly  from  the 
cold,  but  not  from  the  wind  or  snow-storm. 

The  sun  reappeared  for  the  first  time  January  31st ;  every  day 
it  rose  higher  above  the  horizon.  Bell  and  the  doctor  were  at 
the  end  of  their  strength,  almost  blind  and  quite  lame  ;  the  car- 
penter could  not  walk  without  crutches.  Altamont  was  alive,  but 
continued  insensible  ;  sometimes  his  life  was  despaired  of,  but 
unremitting  care  kept  him  alive  !  And  yet  the  doctor  needed  to 
take  the  greatest  care  of  himself,  for  his  health  was  beginning  to 
suffer. 

Hatteras  thought  of  the  Forward  !  In  what  condition  was  he 
going  to  find  it  ]     What  had  happened  on  board  ]  ^  Had  Johnson 


230  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

been  able  to  withstand  Shandon  and  his  allies  ?  The  cold  had 
been  terrible  !  Had  they  burned  the  ship  ]  Had  they  spared  her 
masts  and  keel  1 

AVhile  thinking  of  this,  ^atteras  walked  on  as  if  he  had  wished 
to  get  an  early  view  of  the  Forward. 

February  24th,  in  the  morning,  he  stopped  suddenly.  Three 
hundred  paces  before  him  appeared  a  reddish  glow,  above  which 
rose  an  immense  column  of  black  smoke,  which  was  lost  in  the 
gray  clouds  of  the  sky. 

"  See  that  smoke  !  "  he  shouted. 

His  heart  beat  as  if  it  would  burst. 

"  See  that  smoke  !  "  he  said  to  his  companions.  **  My  ship  is 
on  fire  ! " 

"  But  we  are  more  than  three  miles  from  it,"  said  Bell.  "  It 
can't  be  the  Forward  I " 

"  Yes,  but  it  is,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  the  mirage  makes  it 
seem  nearer." 

"  Let  us  run  !  "  cried  Hatteras. 

They  left  the  sledge  in  charge  of  Duke,  and  hastened  after  the 
captain.  An  hour  later  they  came  in  sight  of  the  ship.  A  terri- 
ble sight !  The  brig  was  burning  in  the  midst  of  the  ice,  which 
was  melting  about  her;  the  flames  were  lapping  her  hull,  and 
the  southerly  breeze  brought  to  Hatteras's  ears  unaccustomed 
sounds. 

Five  hundred  feet  from  the  ship  stood  a  man  raising  his  hands 
in  despair ;  he  stood  there,  powerless,  facing  the  fire  which  was 
destroying  the  Forward. 

The  man  was  alone  ;  it  was  Johnson. 

Hatteras  ran  towards  him. 

"  My  ship  !  my  ship  !  "  he  cried. 

"  You  !  Captain  ! ''  answered  Johnson ;  "  you  !  stop  !  not  a  step 
farther  !  " 

"  Well  % "  asked  Hatteras  with  a  terrible  air. 

"  The  wretches  !  "  answered  Johnson,  "  they  've  been  gone 
forty-eight  hours,  after  firing  the  ship  !  " 

"  Curse  them  !  "  groaned  Hatteras. 

Then  a  terrible  explosion  was  heard;  the  earth  trembled  ;  the 


Then  a  terrible  explosion  was  heard."  —  i'age  -•„ 


THE  ENGLISH  AT  THE  NORTH  POLE.  231 

icebergs  fell ;  a  column  of  smoke  rose  to  the  clouds,  and  the 
Forward  disappeared  in  an  abyss  of  fire. 

At  that  moment  the  doctor  and  Bell  came  up  to  Hatteras.  He 
roused  himself  suddenly  from  his  despair. 

"My  friends,"  he  said  energetically,  "  the  cowards  have  taken 
flight !  The  brave  will  succeed  !  Johnson,  Bell,  you  are  bold ; 
Doctor,  you  are  wise  ;  as  for  me,  I  have  faith  !  There  is  the 
North  Pole  !     Come,  to  work  !  " 

Hatteras's  companions  felt  their  hearts  glow  at  these  brave 
words. 

And  yet  the  situation  was  terrible  for  these  four  men  and  the 
dying  man,  abandoned  without  supplies,  alone  at  the  eighty- 
fourth  degree  of  latitude,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  polar  regions. 


END   OF   PART   I. 


PART    II. 

THE    DESERT    OF    ICE 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE   doctor's    inventory. 

The  design  which  Captain  Hatteras  had  formed  of  exploring 
the  North,  and  of  giving  England  the  honor  of  discovering  the 
Pole,  was  certainly  a  bold  one.  This  hardy  sailor  had  just  done 
all  that  human  skill  could  do.  After  struggling  for  nine  months 
against  contrary  winds  and  seas,  after  destroying  icebergs  and 
ice-fields,  after  enduring  the  severity  of  an  unprecedentedly  cold 
winter,  after  going  over  all  that  his  predecessors  had  done,  after 
carrying  the  Forward  beyond  the  seas  Which  were  already  known, 
in  short,  after  completing  half  his  task,  he  saw  his  grand  plans 
completely  overthrown.  The  treachery,  or  rather  the  demorali- 
zation of  his  wearied  crew,  the  criminal  folly  of  some  of  the  ring- 
leaders, left  him  in  a  teiTible  situation  ;  of  the  eighteen  men  who 
had  sailed  in  the  brig,  four  were  left,  abandoned  without  sup- 
plies, without  a  boat,  more  than  twenty-five  hundred  miles  from 
home  ! 

The  explosion  of  the  Forward,  which  had  just  blown  up  before 
their  eyes,  took  from  them  their  last  means  of  subsistence.  Still, 
Hatteras's  courage  did  not  abandon  him  at  this  terrible  crisis. 
The  men  who  were  left  were  the  best  of  the  crew ;  they  were 
genuine  heroes.  He  made  an  appeal  to  the  energy  and  wisdom 
of  Dr.  Clawbonny,  to  the  devotion  of  Johnson  and  Bell,  to  his 
own  faith  in  the  enterprise ;  even  in  these  desperate  straits  he 
ventured  to  speak  of  hope ;  his  brave  companions  listened  to  him, 
and  their  courage  in  the  past  warranted  confidence  in  their  prom- 
ises for  the  future. 


236  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

The  doctor,  after  listening  to  the  captain's  words,  wanted  to 
get  an  exact  idea  of  their  situation ;  and,  leaving  the  others  about 
five  hundred  feet  from  the  ship,  he  made  his  way  to  the  scene  of 
the  catastrophe. 

Of  the  Forward^  which  had  been  built  with  so  much  care,  noth- 
ing was  left ;  pieces  of  ice,  shapeless  fragments  all  blackened  and 
charred,  twisted  pieces  of  iron,  ends  of  ropes  still  burning  like  fuse, 
and  scattered  here  and  there  on  the  ice-field,  testified  to  the  force 
of  the  explosion.  The  cannon  had  been  hurled  to  some  distance, 
and  was  lying  on  a  piece  of  ice  that  looked  like  a  gun-carriage. 
The  surface  of  the  ice,  for  a  circle  of  six  hundred  feet  in  diameter, 
was  covered  with  fragments  of  all  sorts ;  the  brig's  keel  lay  under 
a  mass  of  ice ;  the  icebergs,  which  had  been  partly  melted  by  the 
fire,  had  already  recovered  their  rock-like  hardness. 

The  doctor  then  began  to  think  of  his  ruined  cabin,  of  his  lost 
collections,  of  his  precious  instruments  destroyed,  his  books  torn, 
burned  to  ashes.  So  much  that  was  valuable  gone  !  He  gazed  with 
tearful  eyes  at  this  vast  disaster,  thinking  not  of  the  future,  but 
of  the  irreparable  misfortune  which  dealt  him  so  severe  a  blow. 
He  was  immediately  joined  by  Johnson  ;  the  old  sailor's  fiice  bore 
signs  of  his  recent  sufferings  ;  he  had  been  obliged  to  struggle 
against  his  revolted  companions,  defending  the  ship  which  had 

been  intrusted  to  his  care.  The 
doctor  sadly  pressed  the  boat- 
swain's hand. 

*'  Well,  my  friend,  what  is 
going  to  become  of  us  1 "  asked 
the  doctor. 

"  Who  can  say  %  "  answered 
Johnson. 

"At  any  rate,"  continued  the 

doctor,    "don't    let    us   give  way 

to  despair  ;   let  us  be  men ! " 

C_  ^:5^Si         ''Yes,    Doctor,"    answered    the 

old  sailor,   "  you  are  right ;    it 's 

when  matters  look  worst  that  we  most  need  courage  ;  we  are  in  a 

bad  way ;  we  must  see  how  we  can  best  get  out  of  it." 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  237 

"  Poor  ship  !  "  said  the  doctor,  sighing ;  "  I  had  become  at- 
taclied  to  it*;  I  had  got  to  look  on  it  as  on  my  own  home,  and 
there  's  not  left  a  piece  that  can  be  recognized  !  " 

"  Who  would  think.  Doctor,  that  this  mass  of  dust  and  ashes 
could  be  so  dear  to  our  heart  % " 

"And  the  launch,"  continued  the  doctor,  gazing  around,  "was 
it  destroyed  too  ] " 

"  No,  Doctor ;  Shandon  and  the  others,  who  left,  took  it  with 
them." 

"And  the  gig  1" 

"  Was  broken  into  a  thousand  pieces.  See,  those  sheets  of  tin 
are  all  that 's  left  of  her." 

"  Then  we  have  nothing  but  the  Halkett-boat  ? "  * 

"  That  is  all,  and  it  is  because  you  insisted  on  our  taking  it, 
that  we  have  that." 

"  It 's  not  of  much  use,"  said  the  doctor. 

"  They  were  a  pack  of  miserable,  cowardly  traitors  who  ran 
away  !  "  said  Johnson.  "  May  they  be  punished  as  they  de- 
serve ! " 

"  Johnson,"  answered  the  doctor,  mildly,  "  we  must  remember 
that  their  suffering  had  worn  upon  them  very  much.  Only  ex- 
ceptional natures  remain  stanch  in  adversity,  which  completely 
overthrows  the  weak.     Let  ua  rather  pity  than  curse  them  !  " 

After  these  words  the  doctor  remained  silent  for  a  few  minutes, 
and  gazed  around  uneasily. 

"  What  is  become  of  the  sledge  1 "  asked  Johnson. 

"  We  left  it  a  mile  back." 

"  In  care  of  Simpson  ? " 

"  No,  my  friend  ;  poor  Simpson  sank  under  the  toil  of  the  trip." 

"  Dead  ! "  cried  the  boatswain. 

"  Dead  !  "  answered  the  doctor. 

"  Poor  fellow  !  "  said  Johnson  ;  "  but  who  knows  whether  we 
may  not  soon  be  reduced  to  envying  his  fate  1 " 

"  But  we  have  brought  back  a  dying  man  in  place  of  the  one 
we  lost,"  answered  the  doctor. 

"  A  dying  man  ]  " 

♦  Made  of  india-rubber,  and  capable  of  being  inflated  at  pleasure. 


238  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"  Yes,  Captain  Altamont." 

The  doctor  gave  the  boatswain  in  a  few  words  an  account  of 
their  finding  him. 

"  An  American  !  "  said  Johnson,  thoughtfully, 

"  Yes ;  everything  seems  to  point  that  way.  But  what  was 
this  Porpoise  which  had  evidently  been  shipwrecked,  and  what 
was  he  doing  in  these  waters '? " 

"  He  came  in  order  to  be  lost,"  answered  Johnson  ;  "he  brought 
his  crew  to  death,  liiie  all  those  whose  foolhardiness  leads  them 
here.  But,  Doctor,  did  the  expedition  accomplish  what  it  set  out 
for  1 " 

"Finding  the  coalT' 

"  Yes,"  answered  Johnson, 

The  doctor  shook  his  head  sadly, 

"  None  at  all  % "  asked  the  old  sailor. 

"  None ;  our  supplies  gave  out,  fatigue  nearly  conquered  us. 
We  did  not  even  reach  the  spot  mentioned  by  Edward  Belcher." 

"  So,"  continued  Johnson,  "you  have  no  fuel?" 

*'No." 

"  Nor  food  % " 

"  No," 

*'And  no  boat  with  which  to  reach  England?" 

They  were  both  silent ;  they  needed  all  their  courage  to  meet 
this  terrible  situation. 

"  Well,"  resumed  the  boatswain,  "  there  can  be  no  doubts  about 
our  condition !  We  know  what  w^e  have  to  expect !  But  the  first 
thing  to  do,  when  the  weather  is  so  cold,  is  to  build  a  snow- 
house." 

"Yes,"  answered  the  doctor,  "with  Bell's  aid  that  will  be  easy; 
then  we  '11  go  after  the  sledge,  we  '11  bring  the  American  here, 
and  then  we  '11  take  counsel  with  Hatteras." 

"  Poor  captain  !  "  said  Johnson,  forgetting  his  own  griefs  ;  "he 
must  suff'er  terribly." 

With  these  words 'they  returned  to  their  companions.  Hat- 
teras was  standing  with  folded  arms,  as  usual,  gazing  silently  into 
space.  His  face  wore  its  usual  expression  of  firmness.  Of  what 
was  this  remarkable  man  thinking]     Of  his  desperate  condition 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  239 

and  shattered  hopes  %  Was  he  planning  to  return,  since  both  men 
and  the  elements  had  combined  against  iiis  attempt  1 

No  one  could  have  read  his  tht)ughts,  which  his  face  in  no  way 
expressed.  His  faithful  Duke  was  with  him,  braving  a  tempera- 
ture of —32°. 

Bell  lay  motionless  on  the  ice  ;  his  insensibility  might  cost  him 
his  life  ;  he  was  in  danger  of  being  frozen  to  death.  Johnson 
shook  him  violently,  rubbed  him  with  snow,  and  with  some  diffi- 
culty aroused  him  from  his  torpor. 

"  Come,  Bell,  take  courage  !  "  he  said  ;  "  don't  lose  heart ;  get 
np ;  we  have  to  talk  matters  over,  and  we  need  a  shelter.  Have 
you  forgotten  how^  to  make  a  snow-house  %  Come,  help  me,  Bell  ! 
There  's  an  iceberg  w^e  can  cut  into  !  Come,  to  work  !  That  will 
give  us  what  we  need,  courage  !  " 

Bell,  aroused  by  these  words,  obeyed  the  old  sailor. 

"Meanwhile,"  Johnson  went  on,  "the  doctor  will  be  good 
enough  to  go  to  the  sledge  and  bring  it  back  with  the  dogs." 

"I  am  ready,"  answered  the  doctor;  "in  an  hour  I  shall  be 
back." 

"  Shall  you  go  too,  Captain  % "  added  Johnson,  turning  to  Hat- 
teras. 

Although  he  was  deep  in  thought,  the  captain  heard  the  boat- 
swain's question,  for  he  answered  gently,  — 

"  No,  my  friend,  if  the  doctor  is  willing  to  go  alone.  We  must 
form  some  plan  of  action,  and  I  want  to  be  alone  to  think  matters 
over.  Go.  Do  what  you  think  right  for  the  present.  I  will  be 
thinking  of  the  future." 

Johnson  turned  to  the  doctor. 

"  It 's  singular,"  he  said  ;  "  the  captain  seems  to  have  forgotten 
his  anger ;  his  voice  never  was  so  gentle  before." 

"  Well ! "  answered  the  doctor ;  "  he  has  recovered  his  presence 
of  mind.  Mark  my  words,  Johnson,  that  man  will  be  able  to 
save  us ! " 

Thereupon  the  doctor  wrapped  himself  up  as  well  as  he  could, 
and,  staff  in  hand,  walked  away  towards  the  sledge  in  the  midst 
of  a  fog  which  the  moonlight  made  almost  bright.  Johnson 
and  Bell  set  to  work  immediately  ;  the   old   sailor    encouraged 


240  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

the  carpenter,  who  wrought  on  in  silence ;  they  did  not  need 
to  build,  but  to  dig  into  the  solid  ice ;  to  be  sure  it  was  frozen 
very  hard,  and  so  rendered  the  task  difficult,  but  it  was  thereby 
additionally  secure ;  soon  Johnson  and  Bell  could  work  comfort- 
__^^___^^^^_______^_____^__^_^^^^^^^__^_        ably  in  the  orifice, 

■  throwing  outside  all 
that  they  took  from 
the  solid  mass. 
From  time  to  time 
Hatteras  would  walk 
fitfully,  stopping 
suddenly  every  now 
and  then  ;  evidently 
he  did  not  wish  to 
reach  the  spot  where 
his  brig  had  been.  As  he  had  promised,  the  doctor  was  soon 
back;  he  brought  with  him  Altamont,  lying  on  the  sledge  be- 
neath all  the  coverings ;  the  Greenland  dogs,  thin,  tired,  and  half 
starved,  could  hardly  drag  the  sledge,  and  were  gnawing  at  their 
harness ;  it  was  high  time  that  men  and  beasts  should  take  some 
rest. 

While  they  were  digging  the  house,  the  doctor  happened  to 
stumble  upon  a  small  stove  which  had  not  been  injured  by  the 
explosion,  and  with  a  piece  of  chimney  that  could  be  easily  re- 
paired :  the  doctor  carried  it  away  in  triumph.  At  the  end  of 
three  hours  the  house  was  inhabitable ;  the  stove  was  set  in  and 
filled  with  pieces  of  Avood  ;  it  was  soon  roaring  and  giving  out  a 
comfortable  warmth. 

The  American  was  brought  in  and  covered  up  carefully ;  the 
four  Englishmen  sat  about  the  fire.  The  last  supplies  of  the 
sledge,  a  little  biscuit  and  some  hot  tea,  gave  them  some  comfort. 
Hatteras  did  not  speak ;  every  one  respected  his  silence.  When 
the  meal  was  finished  the  doctor  made  a  sign  for  Johnson  to  fol- 
low him  outside. 

"  Now,"  he  said,  "  we  are  goiug  to  make  an  inventory  of  what ' 
is  left.     "We  must  know  exactly  what  things  we  have ;  they  are 
scattered  all  about ;  we  must  pick  them  up  ;  it  may  snow  at  any 
moment,  and  then  it  would  be  impossible  to  find  a  scrap." 


'The  large  pieces  of  the  engine  lay  here  and  there,  twisted  out  of  shape."  —  Page  241. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  241 

"  Don't  let  us  lose  any  time,  then,"  answered  Johnson ;  *'  food 
and  wood  is  what  we  need  at  once." 

"  Well,  let  us  each  take  a  side,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  so  as  to 
cover  the  whole  ground ;  let  us  begin  at  the  centre  and  go  out  to 
the  circumference." 

They  went  at  once  to  the  bed  of  ice  where  the  Forward  had 
lain ;  each  examined  with  care  all  the  fragments  of  the  ship  be- 
neath the  dim  light  of  the  moon.  It  was  a  genuine  hunt ;  the 
doctor  entered  into  this  occupation  with  all  the  zest,  not  to  say 
the  pleasure,  of  a  sportsman,  and  his  heart  beat  high  when  he 
discovered  a  chest  almost  intact ;  but  most  were  empty,  and 
their  fragments  were  scattered  everywhere. 

The  violence  of  the  explosion  had  been  considerable ;  many 
things  were  but  dust  and  ashes ;  the  large  pieces  of  the  engine 
lay  here  and  there,  twisted  out  of  shape ;  the  broken  flanges  of 
the  screw  were  hurled  twenty  fathoms  from  the  ship  and  buried 
deeply  in  the  hardened  snow ;  the  bent  cylinders  had  been  torn 
from  their  pivots;  the  chimney,  torn  nearly  in  two,  and  with 
chains  still  hanging  to  it,  lay  half  hid  under  a  large  cake  of  ice ; 
the  bolts,  bars,  the  iron-work  of  the  helm,  the  sheathing,  all  the 
metal-work  of  the  ship,  lay  about  as  if  it  had  been  fired  from  a  gun. 

But  this  iron,  which  would  have  made  the  fortune  of  a  tribe  of 
Esquimaux,  was  of  no  use  under  the  circumstances ;  before  any- 
thing else  food  had  to  be  found,  and  the  docter  did  not  discover  a 
great  deal. 

"That's  bad,"  he  said  to  himself;  "it  is  evident  that  the 
store-room,  which  was  near  the  magazine,  was  entirely  destroyed 
by  the  explosion  ;  what  was  n't  burned  was  shattered  to  dust. 
It 's  serious  ;  and  if  Johnson  is  not  luckier  than  I  am,  I  don't  see 
what 's  going  to  become  of  us." 

Still,  as  he  enlarged  his  circles,  the  doctor  managed  to  collect  a 
few  fragments  of  pemmican,  about  fifteen  pounds,  and  four  stone 
bottles,  which  had  been  thrown  out  upon  the  snow  and  so  had 
escaped  destruction ;  they  held  five  or  six  pints  of  brandy. 

Farther  on  he  picked  up  two  packets  of  grains  of  cochlearia, 
which  would  well  make  up  for  the  loss  of  their  lime-juice,  which 
is  so  useful  against  the  scurvy. 

11  p 


242         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

Two  hours  later  the  doctor  and  Johnson  met.  They  told  one 
another  of  their  discoveries ;  unfortunately  they  had  found  but 
little  to  eat :  some  few  pieces  of  salt  pork,  fifty  pounds  of  pemmi- 
can,  three  sacks  of  biscuit,  a  little  chocolate,  some  brandy,  and 
about  two  pounds  of  coffee,  picked  up  berry  by  berry  on  the  ice. 

No  coverings,  no  hammocks,  no  clothing,  were  found;  evi- 
dently the  fire  had  destroyed  all.  In  short,  the  doctor  and  boat- 
swain had  found  supplies  for  three  weeks  at  the  outside,  and  with 
the  strictest  economy ;  that  was  not  much  for  them  in  their  state 
of  exhaustion.  So,  in  consequence  of  these  disasters,  Hatteras 
found  himself  not  only  without  any  coal,  but  also  short  of  pro- 
visions. 

As  to  the  fuel  supplied  by  the  fragments  of  the  ship,  the  pieces 
of  the  masts  and  the  keel,  they  might  hold  out  about  three 
weeks;  but  then  the  doctor,  before  using  it  to  heat  their  new 
dwelling,  asked  Johnson  whether  out  of  it  they  might  not  build  a 
new  ship,  or  at  least  a  launch. 

"No,  Doctor,"  answered  the  boatswain,  "it's  impossible; 
there  's  not  a  piece  of  wood  large  enough  ;  it 's  good  for  nothing 
except  to  keep  us  warm  for  a  few  days  and  then  — " 

"  Then  1 "  asked  the  doctor. 

"  God  alone  knows,"  answered  the  sailor. 

Having  made  out  their  list,  the  doctor  and  Johnson  went  after 
the  sledge ;  they  harnessed  the  tired  dogs,  returned  to  the  scene 
of  the  explosion,  packed  up  the  few  precious  objects  they  had 
found,  and  carried  them  to  their  new  house  ;  then,  half  frozen, 
they  took  their  place  near  their  companions  in  misfortune. 


CHAPTER    II. 

altamont's  first  words. 


Towards  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  snow-clouds  cleared 
away  for  a  few  minutes  ;  the  constellations  shone  brilliantly  in  the 
clear  air.     Hatteras  made  use  of  this  change  to  get  the  altitude 


"They  harnessed  the  tired  dogs."  —  Page  242. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  243 

of  some  stars;  he  went  out  without  saying  a  word,  carrying  his 
instruments  with  him.  He  wished  to  ascertain  his  position  and 
see  if  the  ice-field  had  not  been  drifting  again.  After  an  absence 
of  half  an  hour  he  came  back,  lay  down  in  a  corner,  and  remained 
perfectly  still,  although  not  asleep. 

The  next  day  snow  began  to  fall  heavily ;  the  doctor  could  not 
help  being  glad  that  he  had  made  his  examination  the  day  before, 
for  a  white  curtain  soon  covered  the  whole  expanse,  and  every 
trace  of  the  explosion  was  hidden  under  three  feet  of  snow. 

On  that  day  they  could  not  set  foot  outside ;  fortunately  their 
quarters  were  comfortable,  or  at  least  seemed  so  to  the  exhausted 
travellers.  The  little  stove  worked  well-,  except  occasionally 
when  violent  gusts  drove  the  smoke  into  the  room ;  with  its  heat 
they  could  make  coffee  and  tea,  which  are  both  so  serviceable 
beverages  when  the  temperature  is  low. 

The  castaways,  for  they  deserve  the  name,  found  themselves 
more  comfortable  than  they  had  been  for  a  long  time  ;  hence  they 
only  thought  of  the  present,  of  the  agreeable  warmth,  of  the  brief 
rest,  forgetting,  or  even  indifferent  to  the  future,  which  threat- 
ened with  speedy  death. 

The  American  suffered  less,  and  gradually  returned  to  life  ;  he 
opened  his  eyes,  but  he  did  not  say  anything ;  his  lips  bore  traces 
of  the  scurvy,  and  could  not  utter  a  sound;  he  could  hear,  and 
was  told  where  he  was  and  how  he  got  there.  He  moved  his 
head  as  a  sign  of  gratitude ;  he  saw  that  he  had  been  saved  from 
burial  beneath  the  snow ;  the  doctor  forbore  telling  him  how  very 
short  a  time  his  death  liad  been  delayed,  for,  in  a  fortnight  or  three 
weeks  at  the  most,  their  supply  of  food  would  be  exhausted. 

Towards  midday  Hatteras  arose  and  went  up  to  the  doctor, 
Johnson,  and  Bell. 

"My  friends,"  he  said  to  them,  "we  are  going  to  take  a  final 
resolution  as  to  the  course  we  must  follow.     In  the  first  place,  I 
must  ask  Johnson  to  tell  me  under  what  circumstances  this  act . 
of  treachery  came  to  pass." 

"  Why  should  we  know  1 "   said  the  doctor ;  "  the  fact  is  cer- 
tain, we  need  give  it  no  more  thought." 
;/M  am  thinking  of  it,  all  the  same,"  answered  Hatteras.     "But 


244  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

after  I  've  heard  what  Johnson  has  to  say,  I  shall  not  think  of  it 
again." 

'*  This  is  the  way  it  happened,"  went  on  the  boatswain ;  "  I  did 
all  I  could  to  prevent  the  crime  —  " 

*'  I  am  sure  of  that,  Johnson,  and  I  will  add  that  the  leaders 
had  been  plotting  it  for  some  time." 

"  So  I  thought',"  said  the  doctor. 

"And  I  too,"  continued  Johnson;  "for  very  soon  after  your 
departure,  Captain,  on  the  very  next  day,  Shandon,  who  was 
angry  with  you  and  was  egged  on  by  the  others,  took  command 
of  the  ship ;  I  tried  to  resist,  but  in  vain.  After  that,  every  one 
acted  as  he  saw  fit ;  Shandon  did  not  try  to  control  them ;  he 
wanted  to  let  the  crew  see  that  the  time  of  suffering  and  priva- 
tion had  gone  by.  Hence  there  was  no  economy;  a  huge  fire 
was  lighted  in  the  stove ;  they  began  to  burn  the  brig.  The  men 
had  the  provisions  given  them  freely,  and  the  spirits  too,  and  you 
can  easily  imagine  the  abuse  they  made  of  them  after  their  long 
abstinence.  Things  went  on  in  this  way  from  the  7th  to  the 
15th  of  January." 

"So,"  said  Hatteras,  in  a  grave  voice,  "it  was  Shandon  who  in- 
cited the  men  to  revolt  V 

"Yes,  Captain." 

"  Say  nothing  more  about  him.     Go  on,  Johnson." 

"  It  was  towards  January  24th  or  25th,  that  the  plan  of  leav- 
ing the  ship  was  formed.  They  determined  to  reach  the  western 
coast  of  Baffin's  Bay ;  from  there,  in  the  launch,  they  could  meet 
whalers,  or,  perhaps,  the  settlements  on  the  eastern  side.  Their 
supplies  were  abundant ;  the  sick  grew  better  w*ith  the  hope  of 
reaching  home.  So  they  made  their  plans  for  leaving ;  they  built 
a  sledge  for  the  transport  of  their  food,  fuel,  and  the  launch  ;  the 
men  were  to  drag  it  themselves.  This  occupied  them  until  Feb- 
ruary 15th.  I  kept  anxiously  awaiting  your  return,  Captain,  and 
yet  I  feared  having  you  present ;  you  would  have  had  no  influ- 
ence over  the  crew,  who  would  rather  have  killed  you  than  have 
remained  on  board.  They  were  wild  with  the  hope  of  escape.  I 
took  all  my  companions  aside  and  spoke  to  them,  I  besought 
them  to  stay ;  I  pointed  out  all  the  dangers  of  such  a  journey. 


Johnson's  Story.  —  Page  243. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  245 

as  well  as  the  cowardliness  of  abandoning  you.  I  could  get  noth- 
ing, even  from  the  best.  They  chose  February  2 2d  for  leaving. 
Shandon  was  impatient.  They  heaped  upon  the  sledge  all  the 
food  and  liquor  it  could  hold ;  they  took  a  great  deal  of  wood  ; 
the  whole  larboard  side  had  been  cut  away  to  the  water-line.  The 
last  day  they  passed  carousing;  they  ravaged  and  stole  every- 
thing, and  it  was  during  this  drunkenness  that  Pen  and  two  or 
three  others  set  fire  to  the  ship.  I  resisted,  and  struggled  against 
them ';  they  threw  me  down  and  struck  me  ;  at  last,  these  vil- 
lains, with  Shandon  at  their  head,  fled  to  the  east,  and  disap- 
peared from  my  sight.  I  remained  alone ;  what  could  I  do 
against  this  fire  which  was  seizing  the  whole  ship  %  The  water- 
hole  was  frozen  over ;  I  had  n't  a  drop  of  water.  For  two  days 
the  Forward  was  wrapped  in  flames,  and  you  know  the  rest." 

Having  finished  this  account,  a  long  silence  prevailed  in  this 
ice-house ;  the  gloomy  tale  of  the  burning  of  the  ship,  the  loss  of 
their  precious  brig,  appeared  so  vividly  before  the  minds  of  the 
castaways ;  they  found  themselves  before  an  impossibility,  and 
that  was  a  return  to  England.  They  did  not  dare  to  look  at 
one  another,  for  fear  of  seeing  on  each  other's  faces  blank  despair. 
There  was  nothing  to  be  heard  save  the  hasty  breathing'  of  the 
American. 

At  last  Hatteras  spoke. 

"Johnson,"  said  he,  "I  thank  you;  you  have  done  all  you 
could  to  save  my  ship.  But  you  could  not  do  anything  alone. 
Again  I  thank  you,  and  now  don't  let  us  speak  again  of  this  mis- 
fortune. Let  us  unite  our  eflbrts  for  the  common  safety.  There 
are  four  of  us  here,  four  friends,  and  the  life  of  one  is  of  no  more 
worth  than  the  life  of  another.  Let  each  one  give  his  opinion  on 
what  should  be  done." 

"  Ask  us,  Hatteras,"  answered  the  doctor  ;  "  we  are  all  devoted 
to  you,  our  answers  shall  be  sincere.  And,  in  the  first  place,  have 
you  any  plan  ] " 

"  I  can't  have  any  alone,"  said  Hatteras,  sadly.  "  My  opinion 
might  seem  interested ;  I  want  to  hear  your  opinion  first." 

"Captain,"  said  Johnson,  "before  speaking  on  such  weighty 
matters,  I  have  an  important  question  to  ask  you." 


246  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

"What  is  it?" 

"  You  ascertained  our  position  yesterday ;  well,  has  the  ice-field 
drifted  any  more,  or  are  we  in  just  the  same  place  ?" 

"  It  has  not  stirred,"  answered  Hatteras.  "The  latitude  before 
we  left  was  80°  15',  and  longitude  97°  35^" 

"And,"  said  Johnson,  "how  far  are  we  from  the  nearest  sea  to 
the  west  % " 

"  About  six  hundred  miles,"  answered  Hatteras. 

"  And  this  water  is  —  " 

"Smith's  Sound." 

"  The  same  which  we  could  not  cross  last  April  % " 

"  The  same." 

"Well,  Captain,  now  we  know  where  w^e  are,  and  we  can  make 
up  our  minds  accordingly." 

"Speak,  then,"  said  Hatteras,  letting  his  head  sink  into  his 
hands. 

In  that  way  he  could  hear  his  friends  without  looking  at  them. 

"  Well,  Bell,"  said  the  doctor,  "  what  do  you  think  is  the  best 
course  to  follow  % " 

"  It  is  n't  necessary  to  reflect  a  long  time,"  answered  the  car- 
penter ;  "  we  ought  to  return,  without  wasting  a  day  or  an  hour, 
either  to  the  south  or  the  west,  and  reach  the  nearest  coast,  even 
if  it  took  us  two  months  ! " 

"  We  have  supplies  for.  only  three  weeks,"  answered  Hatteras, 
without  raising  his  head. 

"  Well,"  continued  Johnson,  "  we  must  make  that  distance  in 
three  weeks,  since  it  's  our  only  chance  of.  safety ;  if  we  have 
to  crawl  on  our  knees  at  the  end,  we  must  leave,  and  arrive  in 
twenty-five  days." 

"  This  part  of  the  northern  continent  is  not  known,"  answered 
Hatteras.  "We  may  meet  obstacles,  such  as  mountains  and 
glaciers,  which  will  completely  bar  our  progress." 

"  I  don't  consider  that,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  a  sufficient 
reason  for  not  attempting  the  journey ;  evidently,  we  shall  suffer 
a  great  deal ;  we  ought  to  reduce  our  daily  supply  to  the  mini- 
mum, unless  luck  in  hunting  —  " 

"  There 's  only  half  a  pound  of  powder  left,"  answered  Hatteras. 


TEE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  247 

"  Come,  Hatteras,"  resumed  the  doctor,  '•  I  know  the  weight  of 
all  your  objections,  and  I  don't  nourish  any  vain  hopes.  But  I 
think  I  can  read  your  thoughts ;  have  you  any  practicable  plan  % " 

"  No,"  answered  the  captain,  after  a  few  moments'  hesitation. 

"  You  do  not  doubt  our  courage,"  continued  the  doctor ;  "  we 
are  willing  to  follow  you  to  the  last,  you  know  very  well ;  but 
should  we  not  now  abandon  all  hope  of  reaching  the  Pole  1  Mutiny 
has  overthrown  your  plans ;  you  fought  successfully  against  nat- 
ural obstacles,  but  not  against  the  weakness  and  perfidy  of  men ; 
you  have  done  all  that  was  humanly  possible,  and  I  am  sure  you 
would  have  succeeded ;  but,  in  the  present  condition  of  affairs, 
are  you  not  compelled  to  give  up  your  project,  and  in  order  to 
take  it  up  again,  should  you  not  try  to  reach  England  without 
delay  % " 

"  Well,  Captain  % "  asked  Johnson,  when  Hatteras  had  remained 
a  long  time  silent. 

At  last  the  captain  raised  his  head,  and  said  in  a  constrained 
tone,  — 

"  Do  you  think  you  are  sure  of  reaching  the  shore  of  the  sound, 
tired  as  you  are,  and  almost  without  food  1 " 

*'  No,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  but  it  's  sure  the  shore  won't 
come  to  us ;  we  must  go  to  it.  Perhaps  we  shall  find  to  the 
south  tribes  of  Esquimaux  who  may  aid  us." 

"  Besides,"  added  Johnson,  "  may  we  not  find  in  the  sound 
some  ship  that  has  been  forced  to  winter  there." 

"  And  if  need  be,"  continued  the  doctor,  "  when  we  've  reached 
the  sound,  may  we  not  cross  it,  and  reach  the  west  coast  of  Green- 
land, and  then,  either  by  Prudhoe's  Land,  or  Cape  York,  get  to 
some  Danish  settlement  1  Nothing  of  that  sort  is  to  be  found  on 
the  ice-field.  The  way  to  England  is  down  there  to  the  south, 
and  not  here  to  the  north  !  " 

"Yes,"  said  Bell,  "  Dr.  Clawbonny  is  right ;  we  must  go,  and  go 
at  once.  Hitherto  we  have  forgotten  home  too  much,  and  those 
who  are  dear  to  us." 

"Do  you  agree,  Johnson]"    Hatteras  asked  again. 

"  Yes,  Captain." 

"And  you,  Doctor?" 


248  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

*'Yes,  Hatteras." 

Hatteras  still  remained  silent ;  in  spite  of  all  he  could  do,  his 
face  expressed  his  agitation.  His  whole  life  depended  on  the 
decision  he  should  take  ;  if  he  should  return,  it  was  all  over  with 
his  bold  plans ;  he  could  not  hope  to  make  the  attempt  a  fourth 
time. 

The  doctor,  seeing  the  captain  was  silent,  again  spoke. 

"I  ought  to  add,  Hatteras,"  he  said,  "that  we  ought  not  to 
lose  an  instant ;  we  ought  to  load  the  sledge  w4th  all  our  provis- 
ions, and  take  as  much  wood  as  possible.  A  journey  of  six  hun- 
dred miles  under  such  circumstances  is  long,  I  confess,  but  not 
insuperable ;  w^e  can,  or  rather  we  ought,  to  make  twenty  miles  a 
day,  which  would  bring  us  to  the  coast  in  a  month,  that  is  to  say, 
towards  March  26th." 

"But,"  said  Hatteras,  "can't  we  wait  a  few  days]" 

"  What  do  you  hope  for  %  "  answered  Johnson. 

"  I  don't  know.  Who  can  foretell  the  future  ?  Only  a  few 
days  yet  !  It  's  hardly  enough  to  rest  your  wearied  bodies.  We 
could  n't  go  two  stages  without  dropping  from  weariness,  without 
any  snow-house  to  shelter  us  ! " 

"  But  a  terrible  death  certainly  awaits  us  here  ! "  cried  Bell. 

"  My  friends,"  continued  Hatteras  in  a  tone  almost  of  entreaty, 
"  you  are  despairing  too  soon  !  I  should  propose  to  seek  safety  to 
the  north,  were  it  not  that  yoii  would  refuse  to  follow  me.  And 
yet  are  there  not  Esquimaux  near  the  Pole,  as  well  as  at  Smith's 
Sound  1  That  open  sea,  of  which  the  existence  is  uncertain,  ought 
to  surround  a  continent.  Nature  is  logical  in  everything  it  does. 
Well,  we  ought  to  believe  that  vegetation  appears  w^hen  the 
greatest  cold  ceases.  Is  there  not  a  promised  land  awaiting  us  at 
the  north,  and  which  you  want  to  fly  from  without  hope  of 
return  % " 

Hatteras  warmed  as  he  spoke ;  his  heated  imagination  called 
up  enchanting  visions  of  these  countries,  whose  existence  was 
still  so  problematical. 

"One  more  day,"  he  repeated,  "a  single  hour ! " 

Dr.  Clawbonny,  with  his  adventurous  character  and  his  glow- 
ing imagination,  felt  himself  gradually  aroused ;  he  was  about  to 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  249 

yield  ;  but  Johnson,  wiser  and  colder,  recalled  him  to  reason  and 
duty. 

"  Come,  Bell,"  he  said,  "  to  the  sledge  !  "  « 

*'  Come  along !  "  answered  Bell. 

The  two  sailors  turned  towards  the  door  of  the  snow-house. 

"  0  Johnson  !  you  !  you  !  "  shouted  Hatteras.  "Well,  go  !  I 
shall  stay!" 

"  Captain  ! "  said  Johnson,  stopping  in  spite  of  himself. 

"  I  shall  stay,  I  say !  Go  !  leave  me  like  the  rest  !  Go !  — 
Come,  Duke,  we  two  shall  stay  !  " 

The  brave  dog  joined  his  master,  barking.  Johnson  looked  at 
the  doctor.  He  did  not  know  what  to  do ;  the  best  plan  was  to 
calm  Hatteras,  and  to  sacrifice  a  day  to  his  fancies.  The  doctor 
was  about  making  up  his  mind  to  this  eftect,  when  he  felt  some 
one  touch  his  arm. 

He  turned  round.  The  American  had  just  left  the  place  where 
he  had  been  lying ;  he  was  crawling  on  the  floor ;  at  last  he  rose 
to  his  knees,  and  from  his  swollen  lips  a  few  inarticulate  sounds 
issued. 

The  doctor,  astonished,  almost  frightened,  gazed  at  him  silently. 
Hatteras  approached  the  American,  and  examined  him  closely. 
He  tried  to  make  out  the  words  which  the  poor  fellow  could  not 
pronounce.  At  last,  after  trying  for  five  minutes,  he  managed  to 
utter  this  word  :  — 

"  Porpoised 

"  The  Porpoise  ?  "  asked  the  captain. 

The  American  bowed  affirmatively. 

"  In  these  seas  1 "  asked  Hatteras  with  beating  heart. 

The  same  sign  from  the  sick  man. 

"To  the  north r' 

"Yes." 

"  And  you  know  where  it  lies  1 " 

"Yes." 

"  Exactly  r' 

There  was  a  moment's  silence.  The  bystanders  were  all  ex- 
cited. 

"  Now,  listen  carefully,"  said  Hatteras  to  the  sick  man ;  "  we 
11* 


250  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

must  know  where  this  ship  lies.  I  am  going  to  count  the  degrees 
aloud ;  you  will  stop  me  by  a  sign." 

The  Anierican  bowed  his  head  to  show  that  he  understood. 

''Come,"  said  Hatteras,  "we  '11  begin  with  the  longitude.  One 
hundred  and  five  1  No.  —  Hundred  and  six  1  Hundred  and 
seven  1     Hundred  and  eight  ]     Far  to  the  west  % " , 

"  Yes,"  said  the  American. 

"Let  us  go  on.  Hundred- and  nine  1  Ten?  Eleven?  Twelve? 
Fourteen?     Sixteen?     Eighteen?     Nineteen?     Twenty?" 

"  Yes,"  answered  Altamont. 

"  Longitude  one  hundred  and  twenty  ? "  said  Hatteras.  "  And 
how  many  minutes?     I  shall  count." 

Hatteras  began  at  number  one.  At  fifteen  Altamont  made  a 
sign  for  him  to  stop. 

"  All  right !  "  said  Hatteras.  "  Now  for  the  latitude.  You 
understand?   Eighty?   Eighty-one?   Eighty-two?   Eighty-three?" 

The  American  stopped  him  with  a  gesture. 

"Well!  And  the  minutes?  Five?  Ten?  Fifteen?  Twenty? 
Twenty-five  ?     Thirty  ?     Thirty-five  ? " 

Another  sign  from  Altamont,  who  smiled  slightly. 

"  So,"  continued  Hatteras,  in  a  deep  voice,  "  the  Porpoise  lies 
in  longitude  120°  15',  and  83°  35'  latitude?" 

"  Yes !  "  said  the  American,  as  he  fell  fainting  into  the  doctor's 
arms.     This  exertion  had  exhausted  him. 

"  My  friends,"  cried  Hatteras,  "  you  see  that  safety  lies  to  the 
north,  always  to  the  north  !     We  shall  be  saved  ! " 

But  after  these  first  words  of  joy,  Hatteras  seemed  suddenly 
struck  by  a  terrible  thought.  His  expression  changed,  and  he 
felt  himself  stung  by  the  serpent  of  jealousy. 

Some  one  else,  an  American,  had  got  three  degi'ees  nearer  the 
Pole  !     And  for  what  purpose  ? 


Yes ! '  said  the  American."  —  Page  250. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  251 


CHAPTER    III. 

SEVENTEEN    DAYS    OF   LAND   JOURNEY. 

This  new  incident,  these  first  words  which  Altamont  uttered, 
had  completely  altered  the  situation  of  the  castaways;  but  just 
now  they  had  been  far  from  any  possible  aid,  without  a  reason- 
able chance  of  reaching  Baffin's  Bay,  threatened  with  starvation 
on  a  journey  too  long  for  their  wearied  bodies,  and  now,  within 
four  hundred  miles  from  their  snow-house,  there  was  a  ship  which 
offered  them  bounteous  supplies,  and  perhaps  the  means  of  con- 
tinuing their  bold  course  to  the  Pole.  Hatteras,  the  doctor, 
Johnson,  and  Bell,  all  began  to  take  heart  after  having  been  so 
near  despair;    they  were  nearly  wild  with  joy. 

But  Altamont's  account  was  still  incomplete,  and,  after  a  few 
moments'  repose,  the  doctor  resumed  his  talk  with  him ;  he 
framed  his  questions  in  such  a  way  that  a  simple  sign  of  the  head 
or  a  motion  of  the  eyes  would  suffice  for  an  answer. 

Soon  he  made  out  that  the  Porpoise  was  an  American  bark 
from  New  York,  that  it  had  been  caught  in  the  ice  with  a  large 
supply  of  food  and  fuel ;  and,  although  she  lay  on  her  beam-ends, 
she  must  have  withstood  tke  ice,  and  it  would  be  possible  to  save 
her  cargo. 

Two  months  before,  Altamont  and  the  crew  had  abandoned  her, 
carrying  the  launch  upon  a  sledge  ;  they  wanted  to  get  to  Smith's 
Sound,  find  a  whaling- vessel,  and  be  carried  in  her  to  America ; 
but  gradually  fatigue  and  disease  had  fallen  upon  them,  and  they 
fell  aside  on  the  way.  At  last  only  the  captain  and  two  sailors 
were  left  of  a  crew  of  thirty  men,  and  Altamont's  life  was  the 
result  of  what  was  really  a  miracle. 

Hatteras  wanted  to  find  out  from  the  American  what  he  was 
doing  in  these  high  latitudes. 

Altamont  managed  to  make  him  understand  that  he  had  been 
caught  in  the  ice  and  carried  by  it  without  possibility  of  resisting  it. 


252         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

Hatteras  asked  him  anxiously  for  what  purpose  he  was  sailing. 

Altamont  gave  them  to  understand  that  he  had  been  trying 
the  Northwest  Passage. 

Hatteras  did  not  persist,  and  asked  no  other  question  of  the  sort. 

The  doctor  then  began  to  speak. 

"  Now,"  he  said,  "  all  our  efforts  should  be  directed  to  finding 
the  Porpoise ;  instead  of  struggling  to  Baffin's  Bay,  we  may,  by 
means  of  a  journey  only  two  thirds  as  long,  reach  a  ship  which 
will  offer  us  all  the  resources  necessary  for  wintering." 

"  There  's  nothing  more  to  be  done,"  said  Bell. 

"I  should  add,"  said  the  boatswain,  "that  we  should  not  lose 
a  moment ;  we  should  calculate  the  length  of  our  journey  by  the 
amount  of  our  supplies,  instead  of  the  other  and  usual  way,  and 
be  off  as  soon  as  possible." 

"You  are  right,  Johnson,"  said  the  doctor;  "if  we  leave  to- 
morrow, Tuesda}^  February  26th,  we  ought  to  reach  the  Porpoise 
March  15th,  at  the  risk  of  starving  to  death.  What  do  you 
think  of  that,  Hatteras  1 " 

"  Let  us  make  our  preparations  at  once,"  said  the  captain, 
"and  be  off.  Perhaps  we  shall  find  the  way  longer  than  we 
suppose." 

"Why  sol"  asked  the  doctor.  "This  man  seemed  certain  of 
the  situation  of  his  ship." 

"  But,"  answered  Hatteras,  "  supposing  the  Porpoise  has  been 
drifting  as  the  Forward  didT' 

"  True,"  said  the  doctor,  "  that 's  not  unlikely." 

Johnson  and  Bell  had  nothing  to  urge  against  the  possibility 
of  a  drift  of  which  they  had  themselves  been  victims. 

But  Altamont,  who  was  listening  to  the  conversation,  gave  the 
doctor  to  understand  that  he  wished  to  speak.  After  an  effort  of 
about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  Clawbonny  made  out  that  the  Por- 
poise was  lying  on  a  bed  of  rocks,  and  so  could  not  have  drifted 
away.  This  information  calmed  the  anxiety  of  the  Englishmen ; 
still  it  deprived  them  of  their  hope  of  returning  to  Europe,  unless 
Bell  should  be  able  to  build  a  small  boat  out  of  the  timbers  of  the 
Porpoise.  However  that  might  be,  it  was  now  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance that  they  should  reach  the  wreck. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


253 


The  doctor  put  one  more  question  to  the  American,  namely, 
whether  he  had  found  an  open  sea  at  latitude  83°. 

"  No,"  answered  Altamont. 

There  the  conversation  stopped.  They  began  at  once  to  pre- 
pare for  departure ;  Bell  and  Johnson  first  began  to  see  about  the 
sledge,  which  needed  complete  repairing.  Since  they  had  plenty 
of  wood,  they  made  the  uprights  stronger,  availing  themselves  of 
the  experience  of  their  southern  trip.  They  had  learned  the 
dangers  of  this  mode  of  transport,  and  since  they  expected  to  find 
plenty  of  deep  snow,  the  runners  were  made  higher. 

On  the  inside  Bell  made  a  sort  of  bed,  covered  with  the  canvas 
of  the  tent,  for  the  American ;  the  provisions,  which  were  unfortu- 
nately scanty,  would  not  materially  augment  the  weight  of  the 
sledge,  but  still  they  made  up  for  that  by  loading  it  with  all  the 
wood  it  could  carry. 

The  doctor,  as  he  packed  all  the  provisions,  made  out  a  very 
careful  list  of  their  amount ;  he  calculated  that  each  man  could 
have  three  quarters  of  a  ration  for  a  journey  of  three  weeks.  A 
whole  ration  was  set  aside  for  the  four  dogs  which  should  draw 
it.     If  Duke  aided  them,  he  was  to  have  a  whole  ration. 

These  preparations  were  interrupted  by  the  need  of  sleep  and 
rest,  which  they  felt  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening ;  but  before 
going  to  bed  they 
gathered  around  the 
stove,  which  was 
well  filled  with  fuel, 
and  these  poor  men 
luxuriated  in  more 
warmth  than  they 
had  enjoyed  for  a 
long  time  ;  some 
pemmican,  a  few 
biscuits,  and  sev- 
eral cups  of  coffee  soon  put  them  in  good-humor,  especially  when 
their  hopes  had  been  so  unexpectedly  lighted  up.  At  seven  in 
the  morning  they  resumed  work,  and  finished  it  at  three  in  the 
afternoon.     It  was  already  growing  dark.     Since  January  31st 


254 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT  TEE  AS. 


the  sun  had  appeared  above  the  horizon,  but  it  gave  only  a  pale 
and  brief  light ;  fortunately  the  moon  would  rise  at  half  past 
six,  and  with  this  clear  sky  it  would  make  their  path  plain.  The 
temperature,  which  had  been  growing  lower  for  several  days,  fell 
at- last  to  — 33°. 

The  time  for  leaving  came.  Altamont  received  the  order  with 
joy,  although  the  jolting  of  the  sledge  would  increase  his  suffer- 
ings ;  he  told  the  doctor  that  medicine  against  the  scurvy  would 
be  found  on  board  of  the  Porpoise.  He  was  carried  to  the  sledge 
and  placed  there  as  comfortably  as  possible ;  the  dogs,  iu eluding 
Duke,  were  harnessed  in ;  the  travellers  cast  one  last  glance  at 
the  spot  where  the  Forward  had  lain.  A  glow  of  rage  passed 
over  Hatteras's  face,  but  he  controlled  it  at  once,  and  the  little 
band  set  out  with  the  air  very  dry  at  first,  although  soon  a  mist 
came  over  them. 


Each  one  took  his  accustomed  place.  Bell  ahead  pointing  out 
the  way,  the  doctor  and  Johnson  by  the  sides  of  the  sledge, 
watching  and  lending  their  aid  when  it  was  necessary,  and  Hat- 
teras  behind,  correcting  the  line  of  march. 

They  went  along  tolerably  quickly ;  now  that  the  temperature 
was  so  low,  the  ice  was  hard  and  smooth  for  travel ;  the  five  dogs 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  255 

easily  drew  the  sledge,  which  weighed  hardly  more  than  nine  hun- 
dred pounds.  Still,  men  and  beasts  panted  heavily,  and  often 
they  had  to  stop  to  take  breath. 

Towards  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  moon  peered  through 
mist  on  the  horizon.  Its  rays  threw  out  a  light  which  was  re- 
flected from  the  ice ;  towards  the  northwest  the  ice-field  looked 
like  a  perfectly  smooth  plain ;  not  a  hummock  was  to  be  seen. 
This  part  of  the  sea  seemed  to  have  frozen  smooth  like  a  lake. 

It  was  an  immense,  monotonous  desert. 

Such  was  the  impression  that  this  spectacle  made  on  the  doc- 
tor's mind,  and  he  spoke  of  it  to  his  companion. 

"  You  are  right.  Doctor,"  answered  Johnson ;  "  it  is  a  desert, 
but  we  need  not  fear  dying  of  thirst." 

"A  decided  advantage,"  continued  the  doctor;  "still,  this  im- 
mensity proves  one  thing  to  me,  and  that  is  that  we  are  far  dis- 
tant from  any  land  ;  in  general,  the  proximity  of  land  is  indicated 
by  a  number  of  icebergs,  and  not  one  is  to  be  seen  near  us." 

*'  We  can't  see  very  far  for  the  fog,"  said  Johnson. 

"  Without  doubt ;  but  since  we  started  we  have  crossed  a 
smooth  field  of  which  we  cannot  see  the  end." 

"  Do  you  know.  Doctor,  it 's  a  dangerous  walk  we  are  taking  ! 
We  get  used  to  it  and  don't  think  of  it,  but  we  are  walking  over 
fjithomless  depths." 

"  You  are  right,  my  friend,  but  we  need  not  fear  being  swal- 
lowed ;  with  such  cold  as  this  the  ice  is  very  strong.  Besides,  it 
has  a  constant  tendency  to  get  thicker,  for  snow  falls  nine  days 
out  of  ten,  even  in  April,  May,  and  June,  and  I  fancy  it  must 
be  something  like  thirty  or  forty  feet  thick." 

"  That  is  a  comfort,"  said  Johnson. 

"  In  fact,  we  are  very  much  better  off  than  those  who  skate  on 
the  Serpentine,  and  who  are  in  constant  dread  of  falling  through ; 
we  have  no  such  fear." 

"  Has  the  resistance  of  ice  been  calculated  1 "  asked  the  old 
sailor,  who  was  always  seeking  information  from  the  doctor. 

"  Yes,"  the  latter  answered  :  "  everything  almost  that  can  be 
measured  is  now  known,  except  human  ambition !  and  is  it  not 
that  which  is  carrying  us  towards  the  North  Pole  1     But  to  return 


256  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

to  your  question,  my  answer  is  this.  Ice  two  inches  thick  will 
bear  a  man ;  three  and  a  half  inches  thick,  a  horse  and  rider ; 
five  inches  thick,  an  eight-pound  cannon ;  eight  inches,  a  fully 
harnessed  artillery-piece ;  and  ten  inches,  an  army,  any  number 
of  men  !  Where  we  are  now,  the  Liverpool  Custom  House  or  the 
Halls  of  Parliament  in  London  could  be  built." 

"One  can  hardly  imagine  such  strength,"  said  Johnson;  "but 
just  now,  Doctor,  you  spoke  of  snow  falling  nine  days  out  often ; 
that  is  true,  but  where  does  all  the  snow  come  from  1  The  sea  is 
all  frozen,  and  I  don't  see  how  the  vapor  can  rise  to  form  the 
clouds." 

"  A  very  keen  observation,  Johnson ;  but,  in  my  opinion,  the 
greatest  part  of  the  snow  or  rain  which  we  receive  in  the  polar 
regions  is  formed  from  the*  water  of  the  seas  in  the  temperate 
zones.  One  flake  arose  into  the  air  under  the  form  of  vapor  from 
some  river  in  Europe,  it  helped  make  a  cloud,  and  finally  came 
here  to  be  condensed ;  it  is  not  impossible  that  w^e  who  drink  it 
may  be  quenching  our  thirst  at  the  rivers  of  our  own  country." 

"  That  is  true,"  answered  Johnson. 

At  that  moment  Hatteras's  voice  was  heard  directing  their 
steps  and  interrupting  their  conversation.  The  fog  was  growing 
thicker,  and  making  a  straight  line  hard  to  follow. 

Finally  the  little  band  halted  at  about  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  after  walking  nearly  fifteen  miles ;  the  weather  was  dry ; 
the  tent  w^as  raised,  the  fire  lighted,  supper  cooked,  and  all  rested 
peacefully. 

Hatteras'  and  his  companions  w^ere  really  favored  by  the 
weather.  The  following  days  brought  no  new  difficulties, 
although  the  cold  became  extremely  severe  and  the  mercury 
remained  frozen  in  the  thermometer.  If  the  wind  had  risen,  no 
one  could  have  withstood  the  temperature.  The  doctor  was  able 
to  corroborate  Parry's  observations,  which  he  made  during  his 
journey  to  Melville  Island ;  he  said  that  a  man  comfortably 
dressed  could  walk  safely  in  the  open  air  exposed  to  great  cold, 
if  the  air  were  only  calm  ;  but  as  soon  as  the  slightest  wind 
arose,  a  sharp  pain  was  felt  in  the  face,  and  an  extreme  head- 
ache  which   is  soon  followed  by  death.      The  doctor  was  very 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  257 

anxious,  for  a  slight  wind  would  have  frozen  the  marrow  in  their 
bones. 

March  5th  he  observed  a  phenomenon  peculiar  to  these  lati- 
tudes :  the  sky  was  clear  and  thick  with  stars,  and  thick  snow 
began  to  fall  without  any  cloud  being  visible ;  the  constellations 
shone  through  the  flakes  which  fell  regularly  on  the  ice-field. 
This  went  on  for  about  two  hours,  and  stopped  before  the  doctor 
had  found  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  its  fall. 

The  last  quarter  of  the  moon  had  then  disappeared;  total 
darkness  reigned  for  seventeen  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four ;  the 
travellers  had  to  tie  themselves  together  by  a  long  cord,  to  ayoid 
being  separated ;  it  was  almost  impossible  for  them  to  go  in  a 
straight  line. 

Still,  these  bold  men,  although  animated  by  an  iron  will,  began 
to  grow  weary  ;  their  halts  were  more  frequent,  and  yet  they 
ought  not  to  lose  an  hour,  for  their  supplies  were  rapidly  dimin- 
ishing. Hatteras  would  often  ascertain  their  position  by  observa- 
tion of  the  moon  and  stars.  As  he  saw  the  days  pass  by  and  the 
destination  appear  as  remote  as  before,  he  would  ask  himself 
sometimes  if  the  Porpoise  really  existed,  whether  the  American's 
brain  might  not  have  been  deranged  by  his  sufferings,  or  whether, 
through  hate  of  the  English,  and  seeing  himself  without  resources, 
he  did  not  wish  to  drag  them  with  him  to  certain  death. 

He  expressed  his  fears  to  the  doctor,  who  discouraged  them 
greatly,  but  he  readily  understood  the  lamentable  rivalry  which 
existed  between  the  American  and  English  captains. 

"  They  are  two  men  whom  it  will  be  hard  to  make  agree,"  he 
said  to  himself. 

March  14th,  after  journeying  for  sixteen  days,  they  had  only 
reached  latitude  82° ;  their  strength  was  exhausted,  and  they 
were  still  a  hundred  miles  from  the  ship ;  to  add  to  their  suffer- 
ings, they  had  to  bring  the  men  down  to  a  quarter-ration,  in  order 
to  give  the  dogs  their  full  supply. 

They  could  not  depend  on  their  shooting  for  food,  for  they  had 
left  only  seven  charges  of  powder  and  six  balls ;  they  had  in  vain 
fired  at  some  white  hares  and  foxes,  which  besides  were  very  rare. 
None  had  been  hit. 

Q 


258  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

Nevertheless,  on  the  18th,  the  doctor  was  fortunate  enough  to 
find  a  seal  lying  on  the  ice ;  he  wounded  him  with  several  balls ; 
the  animal,  not  being  able  to  escape  through  his  hole  in  the  ice, 
was  soon  slain.  He  was  of  very  good  size.  Johnson  cut  him  up 
skilfully,  but  he  was  so  very  thin  that  he  was  of  but  little  use  to 
the  men,  who  could  not  make  up  their  minds  to  drink  his  oil, 
like  the  Esquimaux.  Still  the  doctor  boldly  tried  to  drink  the 
slimy  fluid,  but  he  could  not  do  it.  He  preserved  the  skin  of  the 
animal,  for  no  special  reason,  by  a  sort  of  hunter's  instinct,  and 
placed  it  on  the  sledge. 

The  next  day,  the  16th,  they  saw  a  few  icebergs  on  the  horizon. 
Was  it  a  sign  of  a  neighboring  shore,  or  simply  a  disturbance  of 
the  ice  %     It  was  hard  to  say. 

AVhen  they  had  reached  one  of  these  hummocks,  they  dug  in  it 
with  a  snow-knife  a  more  comfortable  retreat  than  that  afforded 
by  the  tent,  and  after  three  hours  of  exertion  they  were  able  to 
rest  about  their  glowing  stove. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE  LAST  CHARGE  OF  POWDER. 

Johnson  had  admitted  the  tired  dogs  into  the  snow-house ; 
when  the  snow  is  falling  heavily  it  serves  as  a  covering  to  the 
animals,  preserving  their  natural  heat.  But  in  the  open  air,  with 
a  temperature  of  — 40°,  they  would  soon  have  frozen  to  death. 

Johnson,  who  made  an  excellent  dog-driver,  tried  feeding  the 
dogs  with  the  dark  flesh  of  the  seals  which  the  travellers  could 
not  swallow,  and  to  his  great  surprise  they  made  a  rich  feast  out 
of  it ;  the  old  sailor  in  his  delight  told  the  doctor.  He,  however, 
was  not  in  the  least  surprised ;  he  knew  that  in  the  north  of 
America  the  horses  make  fish  their  main  article  of  food,  and  what 
a  herbivorous  horse  could  content  himself  with  would  certainly 
satisfy  an  omnivorous  dog. 

Before  going  to  rest,  although  sleep  became  an  imperious  neces- 


The  doctor  was  fortunate  enough  to  find  a  seal."  —  Page  258, 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  259 

sity  for  men  who  had  walked  fifteen  miles  on  the  ice,  the  doctor 
wished  to  have  a  few  serious  words  with  his  companions  about 
the  dangers  of  their  situation. 

"  We  are  only  at  latitude  82°,"  he  said,  "  and  our  supplies  are 
already  running  short." 

"A  reason  for  losing  no  time,"  answered  Hatteras;  "we  must 
push  on ;  the  strong  can  draw  the  feeble." 

"Shall  we  find  a  ship  when  we  get  there  1"  asked  Bell,  who 
was  much  depressed  by  the  fatigue  of  the  journey. 

"Why  doubt  it?"  said  Johnson;  " the  American's  safety  de- 
pends on  ours." 

To  make  sure,  the  doctor  was  anxious  to  question  Altamont 
again.  He  could  speak  easily,  although  his  voice  was  weak ;  he 
confirmed  all  the  statements  he  had  already  made ;  he  repeated 
that  the  ship  was  aground  on  some  granite  rocks,  where  it  could 
not  stir,  and  that  it  lay  in  longitude  120°  15',  and  latitude 
83°  35'. 

"We  can't  doubt  this  statement,"  resumed  the  doctor;  "the 
difficulty  is  not  whether  the  Porpoise  is  there,  but  the  way  of 
getting  to  her." 

"  How  much  food  have  we  left  % "  asked  Hatteras. 

"  Enough  for  three  days  at  the  outside,"  answered  the  doctor. 

"  Well,  we  must  get  to  her  in  three  days,"  said  the  captain, 
firmly. 

"  We  must  indeed,"  continued  the  doctor,  "  and  if  we  succeed 
we  shall  have  no  need  to  complain,  for  we  shall  have  been  favored 
by  faultless  weather ;  the  snow  has  given  us  a  fortnight's  respite, 
and  the  sledge  has  glided  easily  on  the  hardened  ice  !  Ah,  if  it 
only  carried  two  hundred  pounds  of  food  !  Our  dogs  could  have 
managed  it  easily  enough.     But  still  we  can't  help  it!" 

"  With  luck  and  skill,"  said  Johnson,  "  we  might  put  to  some 
use  the  few  charges  of  powder  which  are  left  us.  If  we  should 
kill  a  bear  we  should  be  supplied  for  all  the  rest  of  the  jouniey." 

"W^ithout  doubt,"  answered  the  doctor,  "but  these  animals 
are  rare  and  shy ;  and  then,  when  one  thinks  of  the  importance 
of  a  shot,  his  hand  will  shake  and  his  aim  be  lost." 

"  But  you  are  a  good  shot,"  answered  Bell. 


260 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


"  Yes,  when  four  men's  dinners  do  not  depend  on  my  hitting ; 
still,  I  will  do  my  best  if  I  get  a  chance.  Meanwhile  let  us  try 
to  satisfy  ourselves  with  this  thin  soup  of  scraps  of  pemmican, 
then  go  to  sleep,  and  to-morrow  early  we  '11  start  forth  again." 

A'  few  moments  later  excessive  fatigue  outweighed  every  other 
feeling,  and  they  all  sank  into  a  heavy  sleep.  Early  on  Saturday 
Johnson  awoke  his  companions ;  the  dogs  were  harnessed  to  the 
sledge,  and  they  took  up  again  their  journey  northward. 

The  heavens  were  magnificent,  the  air  was  very  clear,  the  tem- 
perature very  low ;   when  the  sun  appeared  above  the  horizon  it 


appeared  like  an  elongated  ellipse;  its  horizontal  diameter 
appeared,  in  consequence  of  refraction,  to  be  double  its  vertical 
diameter.  It  sent  forth  its  clear,  cold  rays  over  the  vast  icy 
plain.     This  return  to  light,  if  not  to  heat,  rejoiced  them  all. 

The  doctor,  gun  in  hand,  walked  off  for  a  mile  or  two,  braving 
the  cold  and  solitude ;  before  going  he  measured  the  supply  care- 
fully ;  only  four  charges  of  powder  were  left,  and  three  balls ;  that 
was  a  small  supply  when  one  remembers  that  a  strong  animal  like 
the  polar  bear  often  falls  only  after  receiving  ten  or  twelve  shots. 
Hence  the  doctor  did  not  go  in  search  of  so  fierce  game ;  a  few 
hares  or  two  or  three  foxes  would  have  satisfied  him  and  given 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  261 

him  plenty  of  provisions.  But  during  that  day,  if  he  saw  one,  or 
could  not  approach  one,  or  if  he  were  deceived  by  refraction,  he 
would  lose  his  shot ;  and  this  day,  as  it  was,  cost  him  a  charge 
of  powder  and  a  ball.  His  companions,  who  trembled  with  hope 
at  the  report  of  his  gun,  saw  him  returning  with  downcast  looks ; 
they  did  not  say  anything ;  that  evening  they  went  to  sleep  as 
usual,  after  putting  aside  two  quarter-rations  reserved  for  the  two 
following  days.  The  next  day  their  journey  seemed  more  labo- 
rious ;  they  hardly  walked,  they  rather  dragged  along ;  the  dogs 
had  eaten  even  the  entrails  of  the  seal,  and  they  were  beginning 
to  gnaw  their  harness. 

A  few  foxes  passed  at  some  distance  from  the  sledge,  and  the 
doctor,  having  missed  another  shot  as  he  chased  them,  did  not 
dare  to  risk  his  last  ball  and  his  last  charge  save  one  of  powder. 

That  evening  they  halted  early,  unable  to  set  one  foot  before 
the  other,  and,  although  their  way  was  lighted  by  a  brilliant  au- 
rora, they  could  not  go  on.  This  last  meal,  eaten  Sunday  even- 
ing under  their  icy  tent,  was  very  melancholy.  If  Heaven  did  not 
come  to  their  aid,  they  were  lost.  Hatteras  did  not  speak.  Bell 
did  not  even  think,  Johnson  reflected  in  silence,  but  the  doctor 
did  not  yet  despair. 

Johnson  thought  of  setting  some  traps  that  night ;  but  since 
he  had  no  bait,  he  had  very  little  hope  of  success,  and  in  the 
morning  he  found,  as  he  expected,  that,  although  a  great  many 
foxes  had  left  their  marks  around,  yet  not  one  had  been  caught. 
He  was  returning  much  disappointed,  when  he  saw  an  enormous 
bear  sniffing  the  air  at  about  thirty  yards  from  the  sledge.  The 
old  sailor  thought  Providence  had  sent  this  animal  to  him  to  be 
slain ;  without  awakening  his  companions  he  seized  the  doctor's 
gun  and  made  his  way  towards  the  bear. 

Having  got  quite  near  he  took  aim,  but  just  as  he  was  about 
to  pull  the  trigger  he  felt  his  arm  trembling ;  h"is  large  fur 
gloves  were  in  his  way  ;  he  took  them  off  quickly,  and  seized  his 
gun  with  a  firmer  hand.  Suddenly,  a  cry  of  pain  escaped  him ; 
the  skin  of  his  fingers,  burned  by  the  cold  of  the  gun-barrel, 
remained  clinging  to  it,  while  the  gun  fell  to  the  ground,  and 
went  off  from  the  shock,  sending  the  last  ball  off  into  space.     At 


262 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


the  sound  of  the  report  the  doctor  ran;  he  understood  every- 
thing at  a  glance  ;  he  saw  the  animal  trot  quickly  away  ;  Johnson 
■was  in  despair,  and  thought  no  more  of  the  pain. 

"  I  'm    as   tender  as  a  baby,"   he   cried,    "  not  to  be  able  to 
endure  that  pain  !     And  an  old  man  like  me  ! " 

"  Come        back, 

Johnson,"  the  doc- 
tor said  to  him, 
*'  you  '11  get  frozen  ; 
see,  your  hands  are 
w^hite  already ;  come 
back,  come  ! " 

"  I  don't  de- 
serve your  atten- 
tions, Doctor,"  an- 
swered the  boat- 
swain; "leave  me!" 
It  will 


Come  along ! 


"  Come  along,  you  obstinate  fellow 
soon  be  too  late  ! " 

And  the  doctor,  dragging  the  old  sailor  under  the  tent,  made 
him  plunge  his  hands  into  a  bowl  of  w^ater,  which  the  heat  of  the 
stove  had  kept  liquid,  although  it  was  not  much  above  the  freez- 
ing-point ;  but  Johnson's  hands  had  no  sooner  touched  it  than  it 
froze  at  once. 

"  You  see,"  said  the  doctor,  "  it  was  time  to  come  back,  other- 
wise I  should  have  had  to  amputate  your  hands." 

Thanks  to  his  cares,  all  danger  was  gone  in  an  hour ;  but  it  was 
no  easy  task,  and  constant  friction  was  necessary  to  recall  the 
circulation  into  the  old  sailor's  fingers.  The  doctor  urged  him  to 
keep  his  hands  away  from  the  stove,  the  heat  of  which  might 
produce  serious  results. 

That  morning  they  had  to  go  without  breakfast ;  of  the  pem- 
mican  and  the  salt  meat  nothing  was  left.  There  was  not  a 
crumb  of  biscuit,  and  only  half  a  pound  of  coffee.  They  had  to 
content  themselves  with  drinking  this  hot,  and  then  they  set  out. 

"There  's  nothing  more  !  "  said  Bell  to  Johnson,  in  a  despairing 
accent. 


"  At  the  end  of  two  hours  they  fell  exhausted."  —  Page  263. 


THE  DESEJIT  OF  ICE.  263 

Let  us  trust  in  God,"  said  the  old  sailor ;  *'  he  is  able  to  pre- 
e  us  ! " 

"This  Captain  Hatteras!"  continued  Bell;  "he  was  able  to 
return  from  his  first  expeditions,  but  he  '11  never  get  back  from 
this  one,  and  we  shall  never  see  home  again  ! " 

"  Courage,  Bell !  I  confess  that  the  captain  is  almost  fool- 
hardy, but  there  is  with  him  a  very  ingenious  man." 

"Dr.  Clawbonnyr'  said  Bell. 

"Yes,"  answered  Johnson. 

"  What  can  he  do  in  such  circumstances  1 "  retorted  Bell,  shrug- 
ging his  shoulders.  "Can  he  change  these  pieces  of  ice  into 
pieces  of  meat  1     Is  he  a  god,  who  can  work  by  miracles  ] " 

"  Who  can  say  1 "  the  boatswain  answered  his  companion's 
doubts  ;    "  I  trust  in  him." 

Bell  shook  his  head,  and  fell  into  a  silent  apathy,  in  which  he 
even  ceased  to  think. 

That  day  they  made  hardly  three  miles ;  at  evening  they  had 
nothing  to  eat ;  the  dogs  threatened  to  devour  one  another ;  the 
men  suffered  extremely  from  hunger.  Not  a  single  animal  was 
to  be  seen.  If  there  had  been  one,  of  w^hat  use  would  it  have 
been  1  They  could  not  go  hunting  with  a  knife.  Only  Johnson 
thought  he  recognized  a  mile  to  leeward  the  large  bear,  who  was 
following  the  ill-fated  little  party. 

"  It  is  spying  us  !  "  he  said  to  himself;  "  it  sees  a  certain  prey 
in  us  !  " 

But  Johnson  said  no  word  to  his  companions ;  that  evening 
they  made  their  accustomed  halt,  and  their  supper  consisted  only 
of  coffee.  They  felt  their  eyes  growing  haggard,  their  brain  grow- 
ing confused,  and,  tortured  by  hunger,  they  could  not  get  an 
hour's  sleep  ;  strange  and  painful  dreams  took  possession  of  their 
minds. 

At  a  latitude  in  which  the  body  imperiously  demands  refresh- 
ment, these  poor  men  had  not  eaten  solid  food  for  thirty-six 
hours,  when  Tuesday  morning  came.  Nevertheless,  inspired  by 
superhuman  energy,  they  resumed  their  journey,  pushing  on  the 
sledge  which  the  dogs  were  unable  to  draw.  At  the  end  of  two 
hours  they  fell,  exhausted.     Hatteras  wanted  to  push  on.     He, 


264         TS^  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


still  strong,  besought  his  companions  to  rise,  but  they  were  ab- 
solutely unable.  Then,  with  Johnson's  assistance,  he  built  a 
resting-place  in  an  iceberg.     It  seemed  as  if  they  were  digging 

their  own  graves. 

"  I  am  willing  to 
die  of  hunger,"  said 
Hatteras,  "  but  not 
of  cold." 

After  much  weari- 
ness the  house  was 
ready,  and  they  all 
entered  it. 

^  So      that      day 

yy^^T^'^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^g     passed.     In  that 

evening,  while  his 
companions  lay  inert,  Johnson  had  a  sort  of  hallucination ;  he 
dreamed  of  an  immense  bear.  That  word,  which  he  kept  re- 
peating, attracted  the  doctor's  attention,  so  that  he  shook  himself 
free  from  his  stupor,  and  asked  the  old  sailor  why  he  kept  talking 
about  a  bear,  and  what  bear  he  meant. 

"  The  bear  which  is  following  us,"  answered  Johnson. 
"  The  bear  which  is  following  us  1 "  repeated  the  doctor. 
"  Yes,  the  last  two  days." 
"  The  last  two  days  !     Have  you  seen  him  ] " 
"  Yes,  he  's  a  mile  to  leeward." 
*'  And  you  did  n't  tell  us,  Johnson  % " 
"  What  was  the  use  % " 

"  True,"  said  the  doctor ;  "  we  have  no  ball  to  fire  at  him." 
"  Not  a  slug,  a  bit  of  iron,  nor  a  bolt !  "  said  the  old  sailor. 
The  doctor  was  silent,  and  began  to  think  intently.     Soon  he 
said  to  the  boatswain,  — 

"  You  are  sure  the  bear  is  following  us  1 " 
"  Yes,  Doctor,  he  's  lying  in  wait  to  eat  us.    He  knows  we  can't 
escape  him ! " 

"  Johnson  !  "  said  the  doctor,  touched  by  the  despairing  accent 
of  his  companion. 

"His  food  is  sure,"  continued  the  poor  man,  who  was  begin- 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  265 

ning  to  be  delirious  ;  "  he  must  be  half  famished,  and  I  don't  see 
why  we. need  keep  him  waiting  any  longer  !  " 

"Be  quiet,  Johnson  !  " 

"  No,  Doctor ;  if  we  've  got  to  come  to  it,  why  should  we  pro- 
long the  animal's  sufterings  %  He  's  hungry  as  we  are ;  he  has  no 
seal  to  eat !  Heaven  sends  him  us  men ;  well,  so  much  tlie  better 
for  him  !  " 

Thereupon  Johnson  went  out  of  his  mind  ;  he  wanted  to  leave 
the  snow-house.  The  doctor  had  hard  work  to  prevent  him,  and 
he  only  succeeded  by  saying,  as  if  he  meant  it,  — 

''  To-morrow  I  shall  kill  that  bear  !  " 

"  To-morrow  !  "  said  Johnson,  as  if  he  had  awakened  from  a  bad 
dream. 

"Yes,  to-morrow." 

"  You  have  no  ball !  " 

"  I  shall  make  one." 

"  You  have  no  lead  ! " 

"  No,  but  I  have  some  quicksilver." 

Thereupon  the  doctor  took  the  thermometer ;  it  marked  +50°. 
He  went  outside,  placed  the  instrument  on  the  ice,  and  soon  re- 
turned. The  outside  temperature  was  — 50°.  Then  he  said  to 
the  old  sailor,  — 

"  Now  go  to  sleep,  and  wait  till  to-moiTow." 

That  night  they  endured  the  horrors  of  hunger ;  only  the 
doctor  and  the  boatswain  were  able  to  temper  them  with  a  little 
hope.  The  next  morning,  at  dawn,  the  doctor  rushed  out,  fol- 
lowed by  Johnson,  and  ran  to  the  thermometer ;  all  the  mercury 
had  sunk  into  the  bulb,  in  the  form  of  a  compact  cylinder.  The 
doctoi^  broke  the  instrument,  and  seized  in  his  gloved  fingers  a 
piece  of  very  hard  metal.     It  was  a  real  bullet. 

"  Ah,  Doctor,"  shouted  the  old  sailor,  "  that 's  a  real  miracle  ! 
You  are  a  wonderful  man  ! " 

"  No,  my  friend,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  I  am  only  a  man  with 
a  good  memory,  who  has  read  a  good  deal." 

"  Why,  what  do  you  mean  ]" 

"  I  happened  to  remember  something  Captain  Ross  related  in 
the  account  of  his  voyage  :  he  said  he  shot  through  an  inch  plank 
12 


266  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

with  a  bullet  of  frozen  mercury;  if  I  had  any  oil  it  would  amount 
to  nearly  the  same  thing,  for  he  speaks  of  a  ball  of  sweet  almond, 
which  was  fired  against  a  post  and  fell  back  to  the  ground  un- 
broken." 

"  That  is  hardly  credible  ! " 

''But  it  .is  true,  Johnson;  this  piece  of  metal  may  save  our 
lives  ;  let  us  leave  it  here  in  the  air  before  we  take  it,  and  go  and 
see  whether  the  bear  is  still  following  us." 

At  that  moment  Hatteras  came  out  of  the  hut ;  the  doctor 
showed  him  the  bullet,  and  told  him  what  he  thought  of  doing ; 
the  captain  pressed  his  hand,  and  the  three  went  off  to  inspect. 
The  air  was  very  clear.  Hatteras,  who  was  ahead  of  his  com- 
panions, discovered  the  bear  about  a  half-mile  off.  The  animal, 
seated  on  his  hind  quarters,  was  busily  moving  his  head  about, 
sniffing  towards  these  new  arrivals. 

"  There  he  is  !  "  shouted  the  captain. 

"  Silence  !  "  said  the  doctor. 

But  the  huge  beast  did  not  stir  when  he  saw  the  hunters.  He 
gazed  at  them  without  fear  or  anger.  Still,  it  would  be  found- 
hard  to  approach  him. 

"  My  friends,"  said  Hatteras,  "  we  have  not  come  out  for  sport, 
but  to  save  our  lives.     Let  us  act  cautiously." 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  we  can  only  have  one  shot,  and 
we  must  not  miss ;  if  he  were  to  run  away,  he  would  be  lost,  for 
he  can  run  fixster  than  a  hare." 

"  Well,  we  must  go  straight  for  him,"  said  Johnson ;  "  it  is 
dangerous,  but  what  does  it  matter*?  I  am  willing  to  risk  my 
hfe." 

"No,  let  me  go  !"  cried  the  doctor. 

"  No,  I  shall  go,"  answered  Hatteras,  quietly. 

"  But,"  said  Johnson,  "  are  not  you  of  more  use  to  the  others 
than  I  should  be?" 

"No,  Johnson,"  answered  the  captain,  "let  me  go;  I  shall 
run  no  needless  risk ;  perhaps,  too,  I  shall  call  on  you  to  help 
me." 

"Hatteras,"  asked  the  doctor,  "are  you  going  to  walk  straight 
towards  the  bearT' 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


26' 


"  If  I  were  sure  of  hitting  him,  I  would  do  so,  even  at  the  risk 
of  having  my  head  torn  open,  but  he  would  flee  at  my  approach. 
He  is  very  crafty ;  we  must  try  to  be  even  craftier." 

"  What  do  you  in- 
tend to  do  % " 

"  To  get  within 
ten  feet  of  him 
without  his  suspect- 
ing it." 

"  How  are  you  go- 
ing to  do  it?" 

"  By  a  simple  but 
dangerous  method. 
You  kept,  did  you 
not,  the  skin  of  the  seal  you  shot?'* 

"  Yes,  it  is  on  the  sledge." 

"  Well,  let  us  go  back  to  the  snow-house,  while  Johnson  stays 
here  on  watch." 

The  boatswain  crept  behind  a  hummock  which  hid  him  entirely 
from  the  sight  of  the  bear,  who  stayed  in  ihe  same  place,  contin- 
ually snifiing  the  air. 


CHAPTER    V. 


THE   SEAL   AND    THE   BEAR. 

Hatteras  and  the  doctor  went  baok  to  the  house. 

"You  know%"  said  the  captain,  "that  the  polar  bears  chase 
seals,  which  are  their  principal  food.  They  watch  for  days  at 
their  breathing-holes,  and  seize  them  the  moment  they  come  upon 
the  ice.     So  a  bear  will  not  be  afraid  of  a  seal ;  far  from  it." 

"I  understand  your  plan,"  said  the  doctor,  "but  it's  dan- 
gerous." 

"But  there  is  a  chance  of  success,"  answered  the  captain, 
"and  we  must  try  it.     I  am  going  to  put  on  the  sealskin  and 


2G8  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

ciiiwl  over  the  ice.  Let  iis  lose  no  time.  Load  the  gun  and  give 
it  to  me." 

The  doctor  had  nothing  to  sa}^ ;  he  would  himself  have  done 
what  his  companion  was  about  to  try ;  he  left  the  house,  carrying 
two  axes,  one  for  Johnson,  the  other  for  himself;  then,  accompa- 
nied by  Hatteras,  he  went  to  the  sledge. 

There  Hatteras  put  on  the  sealskin,  which  very  nearly  covered 
him.  Meanwhile,  Hatteras  loaded  the  gun  with  the  last  charge 
of  powder,  and  dropped  in  it  the  quicksilver  bullet,  which  was  as 
liard  as  steel  and  as  heavy  as  lead.  Then  he  handed  Hatteras 
the  gun,  which  he  hid  beneath  the  sealskin.  Then  he  said  to 
the  doctor, — 

"  You  go  and  join  Johnson  ;  I  shall  wait  a  few  moments  to  puz- 
zle the  enemy." 

"  Courage,  Hatteras  !  "  said  the  doctor. 

"Don't  be  uneasy,  and  above  all  don't- show  yourselves  before 
you  hear  my  gim." 

The  doctor  soon  reached  the  hummock  which  concealed  John- 
son. 

•'Welir'  the  latter  asked. 

"  Well,  we  must  wait.     Hatteras  is  doing  all  this  to  save  us." 

The  doctor  was  agitated ;  he  looked  at  the  bear,  which  had  grown 
excited,  as  if  he  had  become  conscious  of  the  danger  which  threat- 
ened him.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  the  seal  was  crawling  over 
the  ice  ;  he  made  a  circuit  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  baffle  the 
bear ;  then  he  found  himself  within  three  hundred  feet  of  him. 
The  bear  then  saw  him,  and  settled  down  as  if  he  were  trying  to 
hide.  Hatteras  imitated  skilfully  the  movements  of  a  seal,  and 
if  he  had  not  known,  the  doctor  would  certainly  have  taken  him 
for  one. 

''  That 's  true  !  "  whispered  Johnson. 

The  seal,  as  he  approached  the  bear,  did  not  appear  to  see  him  ; 
he  seemed  to  be  seeking  some  hole  through  which  to  reach  the 
water.  The  bear  advanced  towards  him  over  the  ice  with  the 
utmost  caution  ;  his  eager  eyes  betrayed  his  excitement ;  for  one 
or  perhaps  two  months  he  had  been  fasting,  and  fortune  was  now 
throwing  a  sure  prey  before  him.     The  seal  had  come  within  ten 


He  p'unged  his  knife  into  tlie  beast's  throat."—  Page  269. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  269 

feet  of  his  enemy ;  the  bear  hastened  towards  him,  made  a  long 
leap,  and  stood  stupefied  three  paces  ,from  Hatteras,  who,  casting 
aside  the  sealskin,  with  one  knee  resting  on  the  ground,  was  aim- 
ing at  the  bear's  heart. 

The  report  was  sounded,  and  the  bear  rolled  over  on  the  ice. 

"  Forward  ! "  shouted  the  doctor.  And,  followed  by  Johnson, 
he  hastened  to  the  scene  of  combat.  The  huge  beast  rose,  and 
beat  the  air  with  one  paw  while  with  the  other  he  tore  up  a 
handful  of  snow  to  stanch  the  woimd.  Hatteras  did  not  stir,  but 
w^aited,  knife  in  hand.  But  his  aim  had  been  accurate,  and  his 
bullet  had  hit  its  mark ;  before  the  arrival  of  his  friends  he  had 
plunged  his  knife  into  the  beast's  throat,  and  it  fell,  never  to  rise. 

"  Victory  !  "  shouted  Johnson. 

"  Hurrah  !  hurrah  !  hurrah  !  "  cried  the  doctor. 

Hatteras,  with  folded  arms,  was  gazing  calmly  at  the  corpse  of 
his  foe. 

"  It 's  now  my  turn,"  said  Johnson ;  "  it 's  very  well  to  have 
killed  it,  but  there  is  no  need  of  waiting  till  it 's  frozen  jjls  hard  as 
a  stone,  when  teeth  and  knife  will  be  useless  for  attacking  it.'' 

Johnson  began  by  skinning  the  bear,  which  was  nearly  as  large 
as  an  ox ;  it  was  nine  feet  long  and  six  feet  in  circumference ; 
two  huge  tusks,  three  inches  long,  issued  from  his  mouth.  On 
opening  him,  nothing  w^as  found  in  his  stomach  but  water ;  the 
bear  had  evidently  eaten  nothing  for  a  long  time ;  nevertheless, 
he  was  very  fat,  and  he  weighed  more  than  fifteen  hundred 
pounds ;  he  was  divided  into  four  quarters,  each  one  of  which 
gave  two  hundred  pounds  of  meat,  and  the  hunters  carried  this 
flesh  back  to  the  snow-house,  without  forgetting  the  animal's 
heart,  which  went  on  beating  for  three  hours. 

The  others  wanted  to  eat  the  meat  raw,  but  the  doctor  bade 
them  wait  until  it  should  be  roasted.  On  entering  the  house  he 
was  struck  by  the  great  cold  within  it ;  he  went  up  to  the  stove 
and  found  the  fire  out ;  the  occupations  as  well  as  the  excitement 
of  the  morning  had  made  Johnson  forget  his  customary  duty. 
The  doctor  tried  to  rekindle  the  fire,  but  there  was  not  even  a 
spark  lingering  amid  the  cold  ashes. 

"  Well,  we  must  have  patience  !  "  he  said  to  himself.     He  then 


270         TEE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

went  to  the  sledge  to  get  some  tinder,  and  asked  Johnson  for  his 
steel,  telling  him  that  the  fire  had  gone  out.  Johnson  answered 
that  it  was  his  fault,  and  he  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket,  where  he 
usually  kept  it ;  he  was  surprised  not  to  find  it  there.  He  felt  in 
his  other  pockets  with  the  same  success ;  he  w^ent  into  the  snow- 
house  and  examined  carefully  the  covering  under  w^hich  he  had 
slept  in  the  previous  night,  but  he  could  not  find  it. 

'' Welir'  shouted  the  doctor. 

Johnson  came  back,  and  stared  at  his  companions. 

"  And  have  n't  you  got  the  steel,  Dr.  Clawbonny  1 "  he  asked. 

"  No,  Johnson." 

"  Nor  you.  Captain  1 " 

"  No,"  answered  Hatteras. 

"You  have  always  carried  it,"  said  the  doctor. 

"Well,  I  haven't  got  it  now  — "  murmured  the  old  sailor, 
growing  pale. 

"  Not  got  it ! "  shouted  the  doctor,  who  could  not  help  trem- 
bling. There  w^as  no  other  steel,  and  the  loss  of  this  might  bring 
with  it  terrible  consequeuces. 

"  Hunt  again  !  "  said  the  doctor. 

Johnson  ran  to  the  piece  of  ice  behind  which  he  had  watched 
the  bear,  then  to  the  place  of  combat,  w^here  he  had  cut  him  up ; 
but  he  could  not  find  anything.  He  returned  in  despair.  Hat- 
teras looked  at  him  without  a  word  of  reproach. 

"This  is  serious,"  he  said  to  the  doctor. 

"  Yes,"  the  latter  answered. 

"We  have  not  even  an  instrument,  a  glass  from  which  we 
might  take  the  lens  to  get  fire  by  means  of  it ! " 

"  I  know  it,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  and  that  is  a  great  pity, 
because  the  rays  of  the  sun  are  strong  enough  to  kindle  tinder." 

"  Well,"  answered  Hatteras,  "  we  must  satisfy  our  hunger  with 
this  raw  meat ;  then  we  shall  resume  our  march  and  we  shall  try 
to  reach  the  ship." 

"Yes,"  said  the  doctor,  buried  in  reflection;  "yes,  we  could  do 
that  if  we  had  to.     Why  not  1     We  might  try  —  " 

"What  are  you  thinking  of?"  asked  Hatteras. 

"An  idea  which  has  just  occurred  to  me  —  " 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  271 

'An  idea,"  said  Johnson;  "one  of  your  ideas!  Tlien  we  are 
saved  ! " 

"  It 's  a  question,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  whether  it  will  suc- 
ceed." 

"  What  is  your  plan  % "  said  Hatteras. 

"  We  have  no  lens  ;  well,  we  will  make  one." 

"  How  % "  asked  Johnson. 

"  With  a  piece  of  ice  which  we  shall  cut  out." 

"  Why,  do  you  think  —  " 

"  Why  not  \  We  \vant  to  make  the  sun's  rays  converge  to  a 
common  focus,  and  ice  will  do  as  much  good  as  crystal." 

'•'  Is  it  possible  1 "  asked  Johnson. 

"Yes,  only  I  should  prefer  fresh  to  salt  water;  it  is  more 
transparent,  and  harder." 

*'  But,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,"  said  Johnson,  pointing  to  a  hum- 
mock a  hundred  paces  distant,  "that  dark  green  block  shows  —  " 

"  You  are  right ;  come,  my  friends ;  bring  your  hatchet,  John- 
son." 

The  three  men  went  tow^ards  the  block  which,  as  they  sup- 
posed, was  formed  of  fresh  water. 

The  doctor  had  a  piece,  a  foot  in  diameter,  cut  through,  and 
he  began  to  smooth  it  with  the  hatchet ;  then  he  equalized  the 
surface  still  further  with  his  knife ;  then  he  polished  it  with  his 
hand,  and  he  obtained  soon  a  lens  as  transparent  as  if  it  had  been 
made  of  the  most  magnificent  crystal.  Then  he  returned  to  the 
snow-house,  where  he  took  a  piece  of  tinder  and  began  his  experi- 
ment. The  sun  was  shining  brightly ;  the  doctor  held  the  lens 
so  that  the  rays  should  be  focused  on  the  tinder,  which  took  fire 
in  a  few  seconds. 

"  Hurrah  !  hurrah ! "  cried  Johnson,  who  could  hardly  trust  his 
eyes.     "  0  Doctor,  Doctor ! " 

The  old  sailor  could  not  restrain  his  joy ;  he  was  coming  and 
going  like  a  madman.  The  doctor  had  returned  to  the  house ;  a 
few  minutes  later  the  stove  was  roaring,  and  soon  a  delicious  odor 
of  cooking  aroused  Bell  from  his  torpor.  It  may  be  easily  im- 
agined how  the  feast  was  enjoyed ;  still  the  doctor  advised  his 
friends  to  partake  in  moderation ;  he  set  an  example,  and  while 
eating  he  again  began  to  talk. 


272 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT T ERAS, 


"  To-day  is  a  lucky  day,"  he  said ;  "  we  have  food  enough  for 
our  journey.  But  we  mustn't  fall  asleep  in  the  delights  of 
Capua,  and  we  'd  better  start  out  again." 

"  We  can't  be  more  than  forty-eight  hours  from  the  Porpoise'' 
said  Altamont,  who  could  now  begin  to  speak  once  more. 

"I  hope,"  said  the  doctor,  smiling,  "that  we  shall  find  mate- 
rial for  a  fire  there." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  American. 


"  For,  if  my  ice  lens  is  good,"  continued  the  doctor,  "  there 
would  still  be  something  desired  on  cloudy  days,  and  there  are 
many  of  them  less  than  four  degrees  from  the  Pole." 

"  True  !  "  said  Altamont  with  a  sigh,  "  less  than  four  degrees  ! 
My  ship  has  gone  nearer  than  any  yet  has  been  !  " 

"  Forward  ! "  said  Hatteras,  quickly. 

*' Forward!"  repeated  the  doctor,  gazing  uneasily  at  the  two 
captains. 

The  strength  of  the  travellers  soon  returned-;  the  dogs  had 
eaten  freely  of  the  bear's  flesh,  and  they  continued  their  journey 
northward.  During  their  walk  the  doctor  tried  to  draw  from 
Altamont  the  object  of  his  expedition,  but  the  American  gave 
only  evasive  answers. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  273 

"  There  are  two  men  to  be  watched,"  he  whispered  to  the  boat- 
swain. 

"Yes,"  answered  Johnson. 

"  Hatteras  never  says  a  word  to  the  American,  and  the  Ameri- 
can seems  to  show  very  little  gratitude.    Fortunately  I  am  here." 

"  Dr.  Clawbonny,"  answered  Johnson,  "  since  this  Yankee  has 
returned  to  life,  I  don't  like  his  face  much." 

*'  Either  I  'm  mistaken,"  answered  the  doctor,  '*  or  he  suspects 
Hatteras's  plans." 

"  Do  you  think  that  the  stranger  has  the  same  plans  % " 

"  Who  can  tell  %  The  Americans  are  bold ;  an  American  may 
well  try  what  an  Englishman  tries  ! " 

"  You  think  that  Altamont  —  " 

"I  don't  think  anything  about  it,"  answered  the  doctor;  *'  but 
the  situation  of  this  ship  on  the  way  to  the  Pole  gives  one  mate- 
rial for  thought." 

"  But  Altamont  said  he  had  drifted  there." 

*'  He  said  so  !     Yes,  but  he  was  smiling  in  a  very  strange  way." 

"  The  devil,  Dr.  Clawbonny ;  it  would  be  unfortunate  if  there 
should  be  any  rivalry  between  two  such  men." 

"  Heaven  grant  that  I  may  be  mistaken,  Johnson,  for  this 
misfortune  might  produce  serious  complications,  if  not  some 
catastrophe." 

"  I  hope  Altamont  will  not  forget  that  we  saved  his  life." 

"  But  is  n't  he  going  to  save  usl  I  confess  that  without  us  he 
would  not  be  alive  ;  but  what  would  become  of  us  without  him, 
without  his  ship,  without  its  resources  1 " 

*'  Well,  Doctor,  you  are  here,  and  I  hope  with  your  aid  all  will 
go  well." 

"  I  hope  so,  Johnson." 

The  voyage  went  on  without  incident  ;  there  w^as  no  lack  of 
bear's  flesh,  and  they  made  copious  meals  of  it ;  there  was  a  cer- 
tain good-humor  in  the  little  band,  thanks  to  the  jests  of  the 
doctor  and  his  pleasant  philosophy  ;  this  worthy  man  always  had 
some  scrap  of  information  to  give  to  his  companions.  His  health 
continued  good ;  he  had  not  grown  very  thin,  in  spite  of  his 
fatigues  and  privations ;  his  friends  at  Liverpool  would  have  rec- 
12*  E 


276  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

the  vessel ;  they  had  to  cut  away  fifteen  feet  of  ice  to  get  to  the 
hatchway ;  but  to  their  great  joy  they  saw  that  the  animals, 
many  traces  of  which  were  to  be  seen,  had  spared  the  supplies. 

"If  we -have  here,"  said  Johnson,  "plenty  of  food  and  fuel, 
this  hull  does  not  seem  inhabitable." 

"Well,  we  must  build  a  snow-house,"  answered  Hatteras,  "and 
make  ourselves  as  comfortable  as  possible  on  the  mainland." 

"  Without  doubt,"  continued  the  doctor ;  "  but  don't  let  us 
hurry ;  let  us  do  things  carefully ;  if  need  be  we  can  fit  out  some 
quarters  in  the  ship;  meanwhile  we  can  build  a  strong  house, 
capable  of  protecting  us  against  the  cold  and  wild  beasts.  I  am 
willing  to  be  the  architect,  and  you  '11  see  what  I  can  do." 

"  I  don't  doubt  your  skill,  Doctor,"  answered  Johnson  ;  "  we  '11 
make  ourselves  as  comfortable  as  possible  here,  and  we  '11  make 
an  inventory  of  all  that  the  ship  contains ;  unfortunately,  I  don't 
see  any  launch,  or  boat,  and  these  ruins  are  in  too  bad  a  state  to 
permit  of  our  making  a  small  boat." 

"  Who  can  say  ^ "  answered  the  doctor.  "  With  time  and  thought 
a  great  deal  can  be  done ;  now  we  have  not  to  trouble  ourselves 
about  navigation,  bat  about  a  house  to  live  in ;  I  propose  not  to 
form  any  other  plans,  and  to  let  everything  have  its  turn." 

"That  is  wise,"  answered  Hatteras;  "let  us  begin  with  the 
beginning." 

The  three  companions  left  the  ship,  returned  to  the  sledge,  and 
announced  their  determination  to  Bell  and  the  American ;  Bell 
said  he  was  ready  to  work ;  the  American  shook  his  head,  on 
learning  that  nothing  could  be  done  with  his  ship ;  but  since  all 
discussion  would  have  been  idle,  they  determined  at  first  to  take 
refuge  in  the  Porpoise,  and  to  build  a  large  building  on  the 
shore. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  five  travellers  were  in- 
stalled as  comfortably  as  possible  between  decks ;  by  means  of 
spars  and  fragments  of  masts.  Bell  had  made  a  nearly  level  floor ; 
there  they  placed  coverings  stiffened  by  the  frost,  which  the  heat 
of  the  stove  soon  brought  back  to  their  natural  state  ;  Altamont, 
leaning  on  the  doctor,  was  able  to  make  his  way  to  the  corner 
which  had  been  set  aside  for  him  ;  on  setting  foot  on  his  ship,  he 


"These  castaways  looked  at  themselves  as  colonists  who  had  reached  their 
destination."  —  Page  277. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  277 

had  sighed  with  a  feeling  of  relief,  which  did  not  encourage  the 
boatswain. 

"He  feels  at  home,"  the  old  sailor  thought,  "and  one  would 
say  that  he  had  invited  us  here." 

The  rest  of  the  day  was  devoted  to  repose  ;  the  weather  threat- 
ened to  change  under  the  influence  of  the  westerly  winds ;  the 
thermometer  outside  stood  at  — 26°.  In  fact,  the  Porpoise  lay 
beyond  the  pole  of  cold,  at  a  latitude  relatively  less  severe, 
though  farther  to  the  north.  On  that  day  they  finished  the  bear, 
with  some  biscuits  they  found  on  the  ship,  and  a  few  cups  of  tea ; 
then  fatigue  overcame  them,  and  each  one  sank  into  a  sound 
sleep. 

The  next  morning  they  all  awoke  rather  late ;  they  soon  re- 
called the  difference  in  their  situation ;  they  were  no  longer  per- 
plexed with  uncertainty  about  the  morrow ;  they  only  thought 
of  establishing  themselves  comfortably.  These  castaways  looked 
at  themselves  as  colonists  who  had  reached  their  destination,  and, 
forgetting  the  sufferings  of  their  long  march,  they  had  no  other 
thought  than  that  of  securing  a  comfortable  future. 

"  Well,"  said  the  doctor,  stretching  his  arms,  "  it 's  something 
not  to  have  to  wonder  where  one  will  sleep  to-night  and  what  one 
will  have  to  eat  to-morrow." 

"  Let  us  first  make  an  inventory  of  the  ship,"  answered 
Johnson. 

The  Porpoise  had  been  carefully  equipped  for  a  long  voyage. 

The  inventory,  when  complete,  indicated  the  following  sup- 
plies :  — 

0,150    lbs.  of  flour,  fat  and  raisins  for  puddings; 
2,000      "    "   beef  and  salt  pork ; 
1,500      "    "    pemmican; 
700      "    "    sugar; 
700      "    "   chocolate; 
500      "    "   rice; 

1^  chests  of  tea,  weighing  87  lbs ; 
many  barrels  of  canned  fruits  and  vegetables,  lime-juice  in  abun- 
dance, cochlearia,  sorrel  and  water-cresses,  and  three  hundred  gal- 
lons of  rum  and  brandy ;  in  the  hold  there  was  a  large  supply 


278  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  E ATT  ERAS. 

of  ammunition  ;  there  was  plenty  of  coal  and  wood.  The  doctor 
collected  carefully  the  nautical  instruments,  and  he  also  found  a 
Bunsen's  Pile,  which  had  been  carried  for  electrical  tests  and 
experiments.  In  short,  they  had  supplies  enough  to  keep  five 
men  on  whole  rations  for  two  years  ;  all  fear  of  starving  or  freez- 
ing to  death  was  hence  wholly  removed. 

"Our  means  of  living  are  certain,"  said  the  doctor  to  the 
captain,  "  and  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  our  reaching  the 
Pole." 

"  The  Pole  ! "  answered  Hatteras,  trembling  with  excitement. 

"  Certainly,"  continued  the  doctor ;  "  what 's  to  prevent  our 
pushing  on  during  the  summer  across  the  land  % " 

"  Across  the  land  !  triie  !     But  how  about  the  sea  % " 

"  Can't  we  build  a  small  boat  out  of  the  timber  of  the  For- 
poise  ?  " 

"An  American  boat,  3'ou  mean,"  answered  Hatteras,  scorn- 
fully,  "  and  commanded  by  this  American  ! " 

The  doctor  understood  the  captain's  repugnance,  and  judged  it 
best  to  change  the  conversation. 

"  Now  that  we  know  what  our  supplies  are,"  he  went  on,  "  we 
must  build  some  safe  place  for  them,  and  a  house  for  ourselves. 
We  have  plenty  of  material,  and  we  can  settle  ourselves  very 
comfortably.  I  hope.  Bell,"  he  added,  turning  to  the  carpenter, 
"that  you  are  going  to  distinguish  yourself;  I  may  be  able  to 
help  you  too,   I  trust." 

"  I  'm  ready,  Doctor,"  answered  Bell ;  "  if  it  w^ere  necessary  I 
could  easily  build  a  whole  city  with  houses  and  streets  out  of 
these  blocks  of  ice  —  " 

"  We  sha'  n't  need  as  much  as  that ;  let  us  follow  the  example 
of  the  agents  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company ;  they  build  forts 
which  protect  them  from  the  wild  beasts  and  the  Indians  ;  that 
is  all  we  need ;  let  us  make  it  no  larger  than  necessary ;  on  one 
side  the  dwelling,  on  the  other  the  stores,  with  a  sort  of  curtain, 
and  two  bastions.  I  '11  try  to  rub  up  what  I  know  about  forti- 
fication." 

"  Upon  my  word,  Doctor,"  said  Johnson,  "  I  don't  doubt  that 
we  shall  make  something  very  fine  under  your  direction." 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  279 

"  Well,  my  friends,  we  must  first  choose  a  site  ;  a  good  engineer 
should  first  study  the  lay  of  the  land.  Will  you  come  with  me, 
Hatteras  1 " 

"  I  shall  trust  to  you,  Doctor,"  answered  the  captain.  "  You 
see  about  that,  while  I  explore  the  coast." 

Altamont,  who  was  still  too  feeble  to  get  to  work,  was  left  on 
board  of  his  ship,  and  the  two  Englishmen  set  foot  on  the  main- 
land. The  weather  was  thick  and  stormy ;  at  noon  the  thermom- 
eter stood  at — 11°,  but,  there  being  no  wind,  that  temperature 
was  comfortable.  Judging  from  the  outline  of  the  shore,  a  large 
sea,  at  that  time  wholly  frozen,  stretched  out  farther  than  eye 
could  reach  in  the  west ;  on  the  east  it  was  limited  by  a  rounded 
coast,  cut  into  by  numerous  estuaries,  and  rising  suddenly  about 
two  hundred  yards  from  the  shore ;  it  formed  a  large  bay,  full  of 
dangerous  rocks,  on  which  the  Porpoise  had  been  wrecked ;  far 
off  on  the  land  rose  a  mountain,  which  the  doctor  conjectured  to 
be  about  three  thousand  feet  high.  Towards  the  north  a  prom- 
ontory ran  into  the  sea,  after  hiding  a  part  of  the  bay.  An  island 
of  moderate  size  rose  from  the  field  of  ice,  three  miles  from  the 
mainland,  so  that  it  offered  a  safe  anchorage  to  any  ship  that 
could  enter  the  bay.  In  a  hollow  cut  of  the  shore  was  a  little 
inlet,  easily  reached  by  ships,  if  this  part  of  the  arctic  seas  was 
ever  open.  Yet,  according  to  the  accounts  of  Beecher  and  Penny, 
this  whole  sea  was  open  in  the  summer  months. 

In  the  middle  of  the  coast  the  doctor  noticed  a  sort  of  plateau 
about  two  hundred  feet  in  diameter  ;  on  three  sides  it  was  open 
to  the  bay ;  the  fourth  was  enclosed  by  an  elevation  about  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty  feet  high  ;  this  could  be  ascended  only  b}^  steps 
cut  in  the  ice.  This  seemed  a  proper  place  for  a  solid  building, 
and  it  could  be  easily  fortified  ;  nature  had  adapted  it  for  the 
purpose ;  it  was  only,  necessary  to  make  use  of  the  place.  The 
doctor,  Bell,  and  Johnson  reached  this  place  by  means  of  steps 
cut  in  the  ice.  As  soon  as  the  doctor  saw  the  excellence  of  the 
place,  he  determined  to  dig  away  the  ten  feet  of  hardened  snow 
which  covered  it ;  the  buildings  had  to  be  built  on  a  solid 
foundation. 

During  Monday,  Tuesday,  and  Wednesday,  work  went  on  with- 


280 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


out  relaxation;  at  last  the  ground  appeared;  it  consisted  of  a 
hard,  dense  granite,  with  the  angles  as  sharp  as  glass;  it  con- 
tained, moreover,  garnets  and  large  crystals  of  feldspar,  against 
which  the  pickaxe  struck  fire. 

The  doctor  then  gave  them  the  dimensions  and  plan  of  the 
snow-house ;  it  was  to  be  forty  feet  long,  twenty  broad,  and  ten 

deep ;  it  was  divided 
into  three  rooms,  a 
sitting-room,  a  bed- 
room, and  a  kitchen ; 
more  was  not  need- 
ed. To  the  left  was 
the  kitchen,  to  the 
right  the  bedroom, 
in  the  middle  the 
sitting-room.  For 
five  days  they  worked 
busily.  There  was 
no  lack  of  material ; 
the  ice  walls  were 
thick  enough  to  re- 
sist thawing,  for  they 
could  not  risk  being 
wholly  without  pro- 
tection, even  in  sum- 
mer. In  proportion 
as  the  house  rose,  it 
became  agreeable  to 
see ;  there  were  four  front  windows,  two  in  the  sitting-room, 
one  in  the  kitchen,  another  in  the  bedroom ;  for  panes  of  glass 
they  substituted  large  sheets  of  ice,  in  the  Esquimaux  fashion, 
which  served  as  well  as  unpolished  glass  for  the  passage  of  light. 
In  front  of  the  sitting-room,  between  two  windows,  there  ran  a 
long  entry  like  a  tunnel,  which  gave  admission  to  the  house ;  a 
solid  door,  brought  from  the  Porpoise,  closed  it  hermetically. 
When  the  house  was  finished,  the  doctor  was  delighted  with  his 
handiwork;  it  would  have. been  impossible  to  say  to  what  school 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


281 


of  architecture   the   building   belonged,   although  the  architect 

would    have   avowed    his    preferences   for  the  Saxon   Gothic,   so 

common  in  England ;  but  the  main  point  was,  that  it  should  be 

solid;   therefore    the 

doctor  placed  on  the 

front  short  uprights ; 

on  top  a  sloping  roof 

rested    against     the 

granite   w^all.      This 

served  to  support  the 

stove  -  pipes,     which 

carried     the     smoke 

aw^ay.  When  the  task 

was  completed,  they 

began  to  arrange  the  interior.     They  carried  into  the  bedroom  the 

sleeping-accommodations  from  the  Porpoise ;  they  were  arranged 

in  a  circle  about  a  large  stove.      Benches,  chairs,  sofas,  tables, 

w^ardrobes,  were  ar- 
ranged in  the  sitting- 
room,  which  was  also 
used  as  a  dining-room ; 
the  kitchen  received 
the  cooking-stoves  of 
the  ship,  and  the  va- 
rious utensils.  Sails, 
stretched  on  the  floor, 
formed  the  carpet,  and 


also  served 
ings    -to     the 


as  hang- 


mner 

doors,  which  had  no  other  way  of  closing.  The  walls  of  the  house 
averaged  five  feet  in  thickness,  and  the  recesses  for  the  windows 
looked  like  embrasures  in  a  fort.  It  was  all  built  with  great 
solidity  ;  what  more  was  to  be  desired  ?  Ah,  if  they  had  listened 
to  the  doctor,  there  is  no  knowing  what  they  would  not  have 
made  of  this  ice  and  snow,  which  can  be  so  easily  manipulated  ! 
He  all  day  long  would  ponder  over  plans  which  he  never  hoped 
to  bring  about,  but  he  thereby  lightened  the  dull  work  of  all  by 


282  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

the  ingenuity  of  his  suggestions.  Besides,  he  had  come  across, 
in  his  wide  reading,  a  rather  rare  book  by  one  Kraft,  entitled 
"  Detailed  Description  of  the  Snow-Palace  built  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, in  January,  1740,  and  of  all  the  Objects  it  contained."  The 
recollection  of  this  book  impressed  him.  One  evening  he  gave 
his  companions  a  full  account  of  the  wonders  of  that  snow-palace. 

"  Why  could  n't  we  do  here,"  he  asked,  "  what  they  did  at 
St.  Petersburg  ?  What  do  we  need  1  Nothing,  not  even  im- 
agination !  " 

"  So  it  was  very  handsome  1 "  said  Johnson. 

"  It  was  fairy-like,  my  friend.  The  house,  built  by  order  of  the 
Empress  Anna,  and  in  which  she  had  celebrated  the  marriage  of 
one  of  her  buffoons  in  1740,  was  nearly  as  large  as  ours  ;  but  in 
front  stood  six  cannons  of  ice ;  they  were  often  fired  without 
bursting  ;  there  were  also  mortars  to  hold  sixty-pound  shells  ;  so 
we  could  have  some  formidable  artillery ;  the  bronze  is  handy,  and 
falls  even  from  heaven.  But  the  triumph  of  taste  and  art  was  on 
the  front  of  the  palace,  which  was  adorned  with  handsome  stat- 
ues ;  the  steps  were  garnished  with  vases  of  flowers  of  the  same 
material ;  on  the  right  stood  an  enormous  elephant,  who  played 
water  through  his  trunk  by  day,  and  burning  naphtha  by  night. 
What  a  menagerie  we  might  have  if  we  only  wanted  to ! " 

■  As  for  animals,"  answered  Johnson,  "  we  sha'  n't  lack  them,  I 
fancy,  and  they  won't  be  any  the  less  interesting  for  not  being 
made  of  ice." 

"  Well,"  said  the  doctor,  "  we  shall  be  able  to  defend  ourselves 
against  their  attacks;  but  to  return  to  the  palace,  I  should  add 
that  inside  there  were  mirrors,  candelabra,  beds,  mattresses,  pil- 
lows, curtains, -clocks,  chairs,  playing-cards,  wardrobes  well  fur- 
nished, and  all  cut  out  of  ice ;  in  fiict,  nothing  was  lacking." 

"  It  was  then  a  true  palace  1 "  said  Bell. 

"  A  splendid  palace,  worthy  of  a  sovereign  !  Ice  !  It  was  kind 
of  Providence  to  invent  it,  since  it  lends  itself  to  so  many  mira- 
cles and  accommodates  so  readily  to  the  needs  of  castaways  ! " 

It  took  them  until  March  31st  to  get  the  house  ready;  this 
was  Easter  Sunday,  and  the  day  was  set  aside  for  rest ;  the  whole 
day  was  spent  in  the  sitting-room,  where  divine  service  was  read, 


The  fort  was  completed.  —  Page  283. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  283 

and  each  was  able  to  judge  of  the  excellent  arrangements  of  the 
snow-house. 

The  next  morning  they  set  about  building  stores  and  a  maga- 
zine ;  this  took  them  about  a  week,  including  the  time  employed 
for  emptying  the  Porpoise,  which  was  not  done  without  difficulty, 
for  the  low  temperature  did  not  permit  them  to  work  very  long. 
At  last,  April  8th,  provisions,  food,  and  supplies  were  safely  shel- 
tered on  land ;  the  stores  were  placed  to  the  north,  and  the 
powder-house  to  the  south,  about  sixty  feet  from  the  end  of  the 
house  ;  a  sort  of  dog-kennel  was  built  near  the  stores ;  it  was  des- 
tined for  the  Greenland  dogs,  and  the  doctor  honored  it  with  the 
title  of  ^'  Dog- Palace."     Duke  partook  of  the  common  quarters. 

Then  the  doctor  passed  to  the  means  of  defence  of  the  place. 
Under  his  direction  the  plateau  was  surrounded  by  a  real  fortifi- 
cation of  ice  which  secured  it  against  every  invasion ;  its  height 
made  a  natural  protection,  and  as  there  was  no  salient,  it  was 
equally  strong  on  all  sides.  The  doctor's  system  of  defence  re- 
called strongly  the  method  of  Sterne's  Uncle  Toby,  whose  gentle- 
ness and  good-humor  he  also  shared.  He  was  a  pleasant  sight 
when  he  was  calculating  the  inclination  of  the  platform  and  the 
breadth  of  the  causeway;  but  this  task  was  so  easy  with  the 
snow,  that  he  enjoyed  it,  and  he  was  able  to  make  the  wall  seven 
feet  thick ;  besides  the  plateau  overlooking  the  bay,  he  had  to 
build  neither  counterscarp  nor  glacis ;  the  parapet  of  snow,  after 
following  the  outlines  of  the  plateau,  joined  the  rock  on  the  other 
side.  The  work  of  fortification  was  finished  April  15th.  The  fort 
was  completed,  and  the  doctor  seemed  very  proud  of  his  work. 

In  truth,  this  fortified  enclosure  could  have  withstood  for  a 
long  time  against  a  tribe  of  Esquimaux,  if  such  enemies  were  met 
under  that  latitude;  but  there  was  no  trace  of  human  beings 
there ;  Hatteras,  in  making  out  the  outline  of  the  bay,  did  not 
see  any  ruins  of  the  huts  which  are  so  commonly  found  in  the 
places  resorted  to  by  Greenland  tribes;  the  castaways  of  the 
Forivard  and  the  Porpoise  appeared  to  be  the  first  ever  to  set 
foot  on  this  unknown  shore.  But  if  they  need  not  fear  men,  ani- 
mals were  to  be  dreaded,  and  the  fort,  thus  defended,  would  have 
to  protect  the  little  garrison  against  their  attacks. 


284         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


CHAPTER    VII. 


A    DISCUSSION    ABOUT    CHARTS. 


During  these  preparations  for  going  into  winter-quarters,  Alta- 
mont  had  entirely  recovered  his  health  and  strength ;  he  was 
even  able  to  aid  in  unlojxding  the  ship.  His  vigorous  constitu- 
tion at  last  carried  the 
day,  and  his  p^lorsoon 
gave  way  before  the 
vigor  of  his  blood. 

They  saw  in  him  a 
sanguine,  robust  citi- 
zen of  the  United 
States,  an  intelligent, 
energetic  man  with  a 
resolute  character,  a 
bold,  hardy  American 
ready  for  everything; 
he  was  originally  from 
New  York,  and  had 
been  a  sailor  from  in- 
fnncy,  as  he  told  his 
companions  ;  his  ship, 
the  Poiyoise,  had  been 
equipped  and  sent  out 
by  a  society  of  wealthy  American  merchants,  at  the  head  of  whom 
was  the  famous  Mr.  Grinnell. 

There  was  a  certain  similarity  between  his  disposition  and  that 
of  Hatteras,  but  their  sympathies  were  different.  This  similarity 
did  not  incline  them  to  become  friends ;  indeed,  it  had  the  oppo- 
site effect.  A  close  observer  would  have  detected  serious  discord- 
ances between  them  ;  and  this,  although  they  were  very  frank 
with  one  another.       Altamont  was  less   so,  however,  than  Hat- 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  285 

teras ;  with  greater  ease  of  manner,  he  was  less  loyal ;  his  open 
character  did  not  inspire  as  much  confidence  as  did  the  captain's 
gloomy  temperament.  Hatteras  would  say  what  he  had  to  say, 
and  then  he  held  his  peace.  The  other  would  talk  a  great  deal, 
but  say  very  little.  Such  was  the  doctor's  reading  of  the  Ameri- 
can's character,  and  he  was  right  in  his  presentiment  of  a  future 
disagreement,  if  not  hatred,  between  the  captains  of  the  Porpoise 
and  the  Forward. 

And  yet  only  one  could  command.  To  be  sure,  Hatteras  had 
all  the  right  of  commanding,  by  virtue  of  anterior  right  and 
superior  force.  But  if  one  was  at  the  head  of  his  own  men, 
the  other  was  on  board  of  his  own  ship.  And  that  was  generally 
felt.  Either  from  policy  or  instinctively,  Altamont  was  at  first 
attracted  towards  the  doctor ;  it  was  to  him  he  owed  his  life,  but 
it  was  sympathy  rather  than  gratitude  which  moved  him.  This 
was  the  invariable  effect  of  Clawbonny's  nature ;  friends  grew 
about  him  like  wheat  under  the  summer  sun.  Every  one  has 
heard  of  people  who  rise  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  make 
enemies ;  the  doctor  could  have  got  up  at  four  without  doing  it. 
Nevertheless,  he  resolved  to  profit  by  Altamont's  friendship  to 
the  extent  of  learning  the  real  reason  of  his  presence  in  the  polar 
seas.  But  with  all  his  wordiness  the  American  answered  without 
answering,  and  kept  repeating  what  he  had  to  say  about  the 
Northwest  Passage.  The  doctor  suspected  that  there  was  some 
other  motive  for  the  expedition,  the  same,  namely,  that  Hatteras 
suspected.  Hence  he  resolved  not  to  let  the  two  adversaries 
discuss  the  subject;  but  he  did  not  always  succeed.  The  sim- 
plest conversations  threatened  to  wander  to  that  point,  and  any 
word  might  kindle  a  blaze  of  controversy.  It  happened  soon. 
When  the  h^use  was  finished,  the  doctor  resolved  to  celebrate 
the  fact-  by  a  splendid  feast ;  this  was  a  good  idea  of  Clawbonny's, 
who  wanted  to  introduce  in  this  continent  the  habits  and  pleas- 
ures of  European  life.  Bell  had  just  shot  some  ptarmigans  and 
a  white  rabbit,  the  first  harbinger  of  spring.  This  feast  took 
place  April  14,  Low  Sunday,  on  a  very  pleasant  day;  the  cold 
could  not  enter  the  house,  and  if  it  had,  the  roaring  stoves  would 
have  soon  conquered  it.     The  dinner  was  good ;  the  fresh  meat 


286 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


made  aii  agreeable  variety  after  the  pemmican  and  salt  meat ;  a 
wonderful  pudding,  made  by  the  doctor's  own  hand,  was  much 
admired ;  every  one  asked  for  another  supply ;  the   head  cook 

himself,  with  an 
apron  about  his 
waist  and  a  knife 
hanging  by  his  side, 
would  not  have  dis- 
graced the  kitchen 
of  the  Lord  High 
Chancellor  of  Eng- 
land. At  dessert, 
liquors  appeared ; 
the  American  was 
not  a  teetotaler ; 
hence  there  was  no 
reason  for  his  de- 
priving himself  of 
a  glass  of  gin  or 
brandy;  the  other 
guests,  who  were 
never  in  any  way 
intemperate,  could 
permit  themselves  this  infraction  of  their  rule ;  so,  by  the  doc- 
tor's connnand,  each  one  was  able  to  drain  a  glass  at  the  end 
of  the  merry  meal.  When  a  toast  was  drunk  to  the  United 
States,  Hatteras  was  simply  silent.  It  was  then  that  the  doctor 
brought  forward  an  interesting  subject. 

"  My  friends,"  he  said,  "  it  is  not  enough  that  we  have  crossed 
the  waters  and  ice  and  have  come  so  far ;  there  is  one  thing  left 
for  us  to  do.  Hence  I  propose  that  we  should  give  names  to 
this  hospitable  land  where  we  have  found  safety  and  rest ;  that 
is  the  course  pursued  by  all  navigators,  and  there  is  not  one  who 
has  neglected  it ;  therefore  we  ought  to  carry  back  with  us  not 
only  a  map  of  the  shores,  but  also  the  names  of  the  capes,  bays, 
points,  and  promontories  which  we  find.  That  is  absolutely 
necessar3\" 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  287 

"  Good  ! "  cried  Johnson ;  "  besides,  when  one  can  give  all  these 
lands  their  own  names,  it  looks  like  genuine  work,  and  we  can't 
consider  ourselves  as  cast  away  on  an  unknown  shore." 

"Besides,"  added  Bell,  "that  simplifies  instructions  and  facili- 
tates the  execution  of  orders ;  we  may  be  compelled  to  separate 
during  some  expedition  or  in  hunting,  and  the  best  way  for  find- 
ing our  way  back  is  to  know  the  names  of  the  places." 

"  Well,"  said  the  doctor,  "  since  we  are  all  agreed,  let  us  try  to 
settle  on  some  names  without  forgetting  our  country  and  friends." 

"You  are  right.  Doctor,"  answered  the  American,  "and  you 
give  what  you  say  additional  value  by  your  warmth." 

"Well,"  continued  the  doctor,  "let  us  go  on  in  order." 

Hatteras  had  not  taken  part  in  the  conversation;  he  was 
thinking.  Still  the  eyes  of  his  companions  were  fastened  on 
him ;  he  rose  and  said,  — 

"  If  you  are  all  willing,  and  I  don't  think  any  one  will  dis- 
sent," —  at  those  words  Hatteras  looked  at  Altamont,  —  "  it 
seems  to  me  proper  to  name  this  house  after  its  skilful  architect, 
and  to  call  it  *  Doctor's  House.'  " 

"  That 's  true,"  said  Bell.  • 

"  Good  !  "  shouted  Johnson  ;  "  Doctor's  House  !  " 

"Couldn't  be  better,"  added  Altamont.  "Hurrah  for  Dr. 
Clawbonny ! " 

Three  cheers  were  then  given,  to  which  Duke  added  an  approv- 
ing bark. 

"  So,"  resumed  Hatteras,  "  let  this  house  bear  that  name  until 
some  new  land  is  discovered  to  bear  the  name  of  our  friend." 

"Ah!"  said  Johnson,  "if  the  earthly  Paradise  were  to  be 
named  over  again,  the  name  of  Clawbonny  would  suit  it  to  a 
miracle ! " 

The  doctor,  much  moved,  wanted  to  defend  himself  by  mod- 
esty, but  he  was  unable.  It  was  then  formally  agreed  that  the 
feast  had  been  eaten  in  the  grand  dining-hall  of  Doctor's  House, 
after  being  cooked  in  the  kitchen  of  Doctor's  House,  and  that  they 
would  go  comfortably  to  bed  in  the  chamber  of  Doctor's  House. 

"Now,"  said  the  doctor,  "let  us  take  the  more  important 
points  of  our  discoveries." 


288  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

"  There  is,"  said  Hatteras,  "  this  immense  sea  which  surrounds 
us,  and  in  which  no  ship  has  ever  floated." 

"No  ship  !"  interrupted  Altamont ;  "it  seems  to  me  the  Por- 
poise should  not  be  forgotten,  unless  indeed  it  came  by  land,"  he 
added  jestingly. 

"  One  might  think  it  had,"  retorted  Hatteras,  "  to  see  the  rocks 
on  which  it  is  now  resting." 

"Indeed,  Hatteras,"  answered  Altamont  w^ith  some  vexation; 
"  but,  on  the  whole,  is  n't  even  that  better  than  blowing  up  as 
the  Forward  did  !  " 

Hatteras  was  about  to  make  some  angry  reply,  when  the  doctor 
interrupted  him. 

"My  friends,"  he  said,  "we  are  not  talking  about  ships,  but 
about  the  new  sea  —  " 

"  It  is  not  new,"  interrupted  Altamont.  "  It  already  bears  a 
name  on  all  the  charts  of  the  Pole.  It  is  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and 
I  don't  see  any  reason  for  changing  its  name ;  if  we  should  find 
out  in  the  future  that  it  is  only  a  sound  or  gulf,  we  can  see  what 
is  to  be  done." 

"  Yefy  well,"  said  Hatteras. 

"Agreed,"  said  the  doctor,  regretting  that  he  had  aroused  a 
discussion  between  rival  nationalities. 

"Let  us  come  to  the  land  which  we  are  now  in,"  resumed  Hat- 
teras. "I  am  not  aware  that  it  bears  any  name  on  the  most 
recent  maps." 

At  these  words  he  turned  to  Altamont,  who  did  not  lower  his 
eyes,  but  answered,  — 

"  You  may  be  mistaken  again,  Hatteras." 

"  Mistaken  !  this  unknown  land,  this  new  country  —  " 

"  Has  a  name  already,"  answered  the  American,  quietly. 

Hatteras  was  silent.     His  lips  trembled. 

"  And  what  is  its  name  1 "  asked  the  doctor,  a  little  surprised 
at  the  American's  statement. 

"  My  dear  Clawbonny,"  answered  Altamont,  "  it  is  the  custom, 
not  to  say  the  habit,  of  every  explorer  to  give  a  name  to  the 
continent  which  he  has  discovered.  It  seems  to  me  that  on 
this  occasion  it  was  in  my  power  and  that  it  was  my  duty  to 
use  this  indisputable  right  —  " 


illiiiiiiiiii|iilE^""'-"--ii' 


"  I  am  not  aware  that  it  bears  any  name  on  the  most  recent  maps."  —  Page  288. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  289 

"  Still  —  "  said  Johnson,  whom  Altamont's  coolness  annoyed. 

"  It  seems  to  me  hard  to  pretend,"  the  American  resumed, 
"  that  the  Porpoise  did  not  discover  this  coast,  and  even  on  the 
supposition  that  it  came  by  land,"  he  added,  glancing  at  Hat- 
teras,  "  there  can't  be  any  question." 

"  That  is  a  claim  I  can't  admit,"  answered  Hatteras,  gravely, 
forcibly  restraining  himself.  "  To  give  a  name,  one  should  be 
the  discoverer,  and  that  I  fancy  you  were  not.  Without  us, 
besides,  where  would  you  be,  sir,  you  who  presume  to  impose 
conditions  upon  us  1     Twenty  feet  under  the  snow  !  " 

"And  without  me,  sir,"  replied  the  American,  "without  my 
ship,  where  would  you  be  at  this  moment?  Dead  of  cold  and 
hunger  1 " 

"  My  friends,  said  the  doctor,  intervening  for  the  best,  "  come, 
a  little  calm,  it  can  all  settle  itself     Listen  to  me  ! " 

"That  gentleman,"  continued  Altamont,  pointing  to  the  cap- 
tain, "  can  give  a  name  to  all  the  lands  he  discovers,  if  he  discov- 
ers any ;  but  this  continent  belongs  to  me  !  I  cannot  admit  of 
its  bearing  two  names,  like  Grinnell  Land  and  Prince  Albert's 
Land,  because  an  Englishman  and  American  happened  to  find  it 
at  the  same  time.  Here  it 's  different.  My  rights  of  precedence 
are  beyond  dispute  !  No  ship  has  ever  touched  this  shore  before 
mine.  No  human  being  before  me  has  ever  set  foot  upon  it ; 
now,  I  have  given  it  its  name,  and  it  shall  keep  it." 

"  And  what  is  its  name  % "  asked  the  doctor. 

"  New  America,"  answered  Altamont. 

Hatteras  clinched  his  fists  on  the  table.  But  with  a  violent 
effort  he  controlled  himself. 

"  Can  you  prove  to  me,"  Altamont  went  on,  "  that  any  Eng- 
lishman has  ever  set  foot  on  this  soil  before  me?" 

Johnson  and  Bell  were  silent,  although  they  were  no  less  angry 
than  the  captain  at  the  haughty  coolness  of  their  opponent.  But 
there  was  nothing  to  be  said.  The  doctor  beg^n  again  after  a 
few  moments  of  painful  silence. 

"  My  friends,"  he  said,  "the  first  law  of  humanity  is  justice ;  it 
embraces  all  the  rest.  Let  us  then  be  just,  and  not  give  way  to 
evil  feelings.  Altamont's  priority  appears  to  me  incontestable. 
13  s 


290  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

There  is  no  question  about  it ;  we  shall  have  our  revenge  later, 
and  England  will  have  a  good  share  in  future  discoveries.  Let 
us  leave  to  this  land,  then,  the  name  of  New  America.  But  Alta- 
mont,  in  giving  it  this  name,  has  not,  I  imagine,  disposed  of  the 
bays,  capes,  points,  and  promontories  which  it  encloses,  and  I 
don't  see  anything  to  prevent  our  calling  it  Victoria  Bay." 

"None  at  all,"  answered  Altamont,  "provided  that  the  cape 
jutting  into  the  sea  over  there  is  named  Cape  Washington." 

"  You  might  have  chosen,  sir,"  cried  Hatteras,  beside  himself, 
"a  name  less  offensive  to  an  English  ear." 

"But  none  dearer  to  an  American  ear,"  answered  Altamont, 
with  much  pride. 

"Come,  come,"  continued  the  doctor,  who  found  it  hard  to 
keep  the  peace  in  this  little  world,  "no  discussion  about  that! 
Let  an  American  be  proud  of  his  great  men  !  Let  us  honor  genius 
wherever  it  is  found,  and  since  Altamont  has  made  his  choice,  let 
us  now  speak  for  ourselves  and  our  friends.     Let  our  captain  —  " 

"  Doctor,"  answered  Hatteras,  "  since  this  is  an  American  land, 
I  don't  care  to  have  my  name  figure  here." 

"  Is  that  opinion  unchangeable  1 "  asked  the  doctor. 

"  It  is,"  answered  Hatteras. 

The  doctor  did  not  insist  any  further. 

"  Well,  then,  it 's  our  turn,"  he  said,  addressing  the  old  sailor 
and  the  carpenter  ;  "  let  us  leave  a  trace  of  our  passage  here.  I 
propose  that  we  call  that  island  about  three  miles  from  here 
Johnson  Island,  in  honor  of  our  boatswain." 

"  0,"  said  the  latter,  a  little  embarassed,  "  0  doctor  !  " 

"  As  to  the  mountain  which  we  have  seen  in  the  west,  we  shall 
call  it  Bell  Mountain,  if  our  carpenter  is  willing." 

"  It 's  too  much  honor  for  me,"  answered  Bell. 

"  It 's  only  fair,"  said  the  doctor. 

"  Nothing  better,"  said  Altamont. 

"  Then  we  have  only  to  name  our  fort,"  resumed  the  doctor ; 
"  there  need  be  no  discussion  about  that ;  it 's  neither  to  Her 
Royal  Highness  Queen  Victoria  nor  to  Washington  that  we  owe 
our  protection  in  it  at  this  moment,  but  to  God,  who  brought  us 
together  and  saved  us  all.     Let  it  be  called  Fort  Providence  ! " 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  291 

"  A  capital  plan  ! "  answered  Altamont. 

"  Fort  Providence,"  added  Johnson,  "  that  sounds  well !  So, 
then,  in  returning  from  our  excursions  in  the  north,  we  shall 
start  from  Cape  Washington  to  reach  Victoria  Bay,  and  from 
there  to  Fort  Providence,  where  we  shall  find  rest  and  plenty  im 
Doctor's  House." 

"  Then  that 's  settled,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  later,  as  we 
make  discoveries,  we  shall  have  other  names  to  give,  which  I 
hope  will  not  give  rise  to  discussion ;  for,  my  friends,  we  ought 
to  stand  by  one  another  and  love  one  another;  we  represent 
humanity  on  this  distant  shore ;  let  us  not  give  ourselves  up  to 
the  detestable  passions  which  infest  society ;  let  us  rather  remain 
ungtttackable  by  adversity.  Who  can  say  w^hat  dangers  Heaven 
has  in  store  for  us,  what  sufferings  we  may  not  have  to  support 
before  we  return  to  our  own  country  %  Let  us  five  be  like  one 
man,  and  leave  on  one  side  the  rivalry  which  is  wrong  anywhere, 
and  especially  here.  You  understand  me,  Altamont  1  And  you, 
Hatteras  % " 

The  two  men  made  no  reply,  but  the  doctor  did  not  seem  to 
notice  their  silence.  Then  they  talked  about  other  things ;  about 
hunting,  so  as  to  get  a  supply  of  fresh  meat ;  with  the  spring, 
hares,  partridges,  even  foxes,  would  return,  as  well  as  bears ;  they 
resolved  accordingly  not  to  let  a  favorable  day  pass  without  ex- 
ploring the  land  of  New  America. 


C"HAPTER    VIII 

EXCURSION    TO    THE    NORTH    OF   VICTORIA   BAY. 

The  next  morning,  as  soon  as  the  sun  appeared,  Clawbonny 
ascended  the  w^all  of  rock  which  rose  above  Doctor's  House ;  it 
terminated  suddenly  in  a  sort  of  truncated  cone;  the  doctor 
reached  the  summit  with  some  little  difficulty,  and  from  there 
his  eye  beheld  a  vast  expanse  of  territory  which  looked  as  if  it 
were  the  result  of  some  volcanic  convulsion ;  a  huge  white  canopy 


292  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

covered  land  and  sea,  rendering  them  undistinguishable  the  one 
from  the  other.  The  doctor,  when  he  saw  that  this  rock  over- 
looked all  the  surrounding  plain,  had  an  idea,  —  a  fact  which  will 
not  astonish  those  who  are  acquainted  with  him.  This  idea  he 
turned  over,  pondered,  and  made  himself  master  of  by  the  time 
he  returned  to  the  house,  and  then  he  communicated  it  to  his 
companions. 

''  It  has  occurred  to  me,"  he  said  to  them,  "  to  build  a  light- 
house at  the  top  of  the  cone  up  there." 

"  A  lighthouse  % "  they  cried. 

"Yes,  a  lighthouse ;  it  will  be  of  use  to  show  us  our  way  back 
at  night  when  we  are  returning  from  distant  excursions,  and  to 
light  up  the  neighborhood  in  the  eight  months  of  winter,"        • 

"  Certainly,"  answered  Altamont,  "  such  an  apparatus  would 
be  useful;    but  how  will  you  build  itl" 

"  With  one  of  the  Porpoise's  lanterns." 

"  Very  good ;  but  with  what  will  you  feed  the  lamp  1  With  seal- 
oil  % " 

"  No ;  it  does  n't  give  a  bright  enough  light ;  it  could  hardly 
pierce  the  fog." 

"  Do  you  think  you  can  get  hydrogen  from  our  coal  and  make 
illuminating  gasi" 

"  Well,  that  light  would  not  be  bright  enough,  and  it  would  be 
wrong  to  use  up  any  of  our  fuel." 

"  Then,"  said  Altamont,  "  I  don't  see  —  " 

"  As  for  me,"  answered  Johnson,  "  since  the  bullet  of  mercury, 
the  ice  lens,  the  building  of  Fort  Providence,  I  believe  Dr.  Claw- 
bonny  is  capable  of  anything." 

"  Well,"  resumed  Altamont,  "  will  you  tell  us  what  sort  of  a 
light  you  are  going  to  havel" 

"It's  very  simple,"  answered  the  doctor;   "an  electric  light." 

"  An  electric  light ! " 

"Certainly ;  did  n't  you  have  on  board  of  the  Porpoise  a  Bun- 
sen's  pile  in  an  uninjured  state  1 " 

"Yes,"  answered  the  American. 

"Evidently,  when  you  took  it,  you  intended  to  make  some 
experiments,  for  it  is  complete.     You  have  the  necessary  acid, 


"  The  doctor  reached  the  summit  with  some  little  difficulty."  —  Page  291 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE, 


293 


and  the  wires  isolated,  hence  it  would  be  easy  for  us  to  get  an 
electric  light.  It  will  be  more  brilliant,  and  wilf  cost  noth- 
ing." 

"  That  is  perfect,"  answered  the  boatswain,  "  and  the  less  time 

we  lose  —  " 

"Well,  the  materials  are  there,"  answered  the  doctor,  "and  in 


an  hour  we  shall  have  a  column   ten  feet  high,  which  will  be 
enough." 

The  doctor  went  out ;  his  companions  followed  him  to  the  top 
of  the  cone ;  the  column  w^as  promptly  built  and  was  soon  sur- 
mounted by  one  of  the  Porpoises  lanterns.  Then  the  doctor 
arranged  the  conducting  wires  which  were  connected  with  the  pile  ; 
this  was  placed  in  the  parlor  of  the  ice-house,  and  was  preserved 
from  the  frost  by  the  heat  of  the  stoves.  From  there  the  wires 
ran  to  the  lantern.  All  this  w\as  quickly  done,  and  they  waited 
till  sunset  to  judge  of  the  effect.  At  night  the  two  charcoal 
points,  kept  at  a  proper  distance  apart  in  the  lantern,  were 
brought  together,  and  flashes  of  brilliant  light,  which  the  wind 
could  neither  make  flicker  nor  extinguish,  issued  from  the  light- 
house. It  was  a  noteworthy  sight,  these  sparkling  rays,  rividling 
the  brilliancy  of  the  plains,  and  defining  sharply  the  outlines  of 


294  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT T ERAS. 

the  surrounding  objects.  Johnson  could  not  help  clapping  his 
hands. 

"  Dr.  Clawbonny,"  he  said,  "  has  made  another  sun  !  " 

"  One  ought  to  do  a  little  of  everything,"  answered  the  doctor, 
modestly. 

The  cold  put  an  end  to  the  general  admiration,  and  each  man 
hastened  back  to  his  coverings. 

After  this  time  life  was  regularly  organized.  During  the  fol- 
lowing days,  from  the  15th  to  the  20th  of  April,  the  weather  was 
very  uncertain;  the  temperature  fell  suddenly  twenty  degrees,  and 
the  atmosphere  experienced  severe  changes,  at  times  being  full  of 
snow  and  squally,  at  other  times  cold  and  dry,  so  that  no  one 
could  set  foot  outside  without  precautions.  However,  on  Satur- 
day, the  wind  began  to  fall ;  this  circumstance  made  an  expedi- 
tion possible ;  they  resolved  accordingly  to  devote  a  day  to  hunt- 
ing, in  order  to  renew  their  provisions.  In  the  morning,  Alta- 
mont,  the  doctor.  Bell,  each  one  taking  a  double-barrelled  gun,  a 
proper  amount  of  food,  a  hatchet,  a  snow-knife  in  case  they 
should  have  to  dig  a  shelter,  set  out  under  a  cloudy  sky.  Dur- 
ing their  absence  Hatteras  was  to  explore  the  coast  and  take  their 
bearings.  The  doctor  took  care  to  start  the  light  \  its  rays  were 
very  bright;  in  fact,  the  electric  light,  being  equal  to  that  of 
three  thousand  candles  or  three  hundred  gas-jets,  is  the  only  one 
which  at  all  approximates  to  the  solar  light. 

The  cold  was  sharp,  dry,  and  still.  The  hunters  set  out 
towards  Cape  Washington,  finding  their  way  made  easier  over 
the  hardened  snow.  In  about  half  an  hour  they  had  made  the 
three  miles  which  separated  the  cape  from  Fort  Providence. 
Duke  was  springing  about  them.  The  coast  inclined  to  the  east, 
and  the  lofty  summits  of  Victoria  Bay  tended  to  grow  lower 
toward  the  north.  This  made  them  believe  that  New  America 
was  perhaps  only  an  island ;  but  they  did  not  have  then  to  con- 
cern themselves  with  its  shape.  The  hunters  took  the  route  by 
the  sea  and  went  forward  rapidly.  There  was  no  sign  of  life,  no 
trace  of  any  building;  they  w^ere  walking  over  a  virgin  soil. 
They  thus  made  about  fifteen  miles  in  the  first  three  hours,  eat- 
ing without  stopping  to  rest ;  but  they  seemed  likely  to  find  no 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


295 


sport.  They  saw  very  few  traces  of  hare,  fox,  or  wolf.  Still,  a 
few  snow-birds  flew  here  and  there,  announcing  the  return  of 
spring  and  the  arctic  animals.  The  three  companions  had  been 
compelled  to  go  inland  to  get  around  some  deep  ravines  and  some 
pointed  rocks  which  ran  down  from  Bell  Mountain ;  but  after  a 
few  delays  they  succeeded  in  regaining  the  shore ;  the  ice  had  not 
yet  separated.  Far  from  it.  The  sea  remained  fast ;  still  a  few 
traces  of  seals  announced  the  beginning  of  their  visit,  and  that 
they  were  already  come  to  breathe  at  the  surface  of  the  ice-field. 
It  was  evident  from  the  large  marks,  the  fresh  breaking  of  the  ice, 
that  many  had  very  recently  been  on  the  land.  These  animals 
are  very  anxious  for  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and  they  like  to  bask  on 


the  shore  in  the  sun's  heat.     The  doctor  called  his  companions' 
attention  to  these  facts. 

" Let  us  notice  this  place,"  he  said.  "It  is  very  possible  that 
in  summer  we  shall  find  hundreds  of  seals  here  ;  they  can  be  ap- 
proached and  caught  without  difficulty,  if  they  are  unfamiliar  with 
men.  But  we  must  take  care  not  to  frighten  them,  or  they  will 
disappear  as  if  by  magic  and  never  return ;  in  that  way,  careless 
hunters,  instead  of  killing  them  one  by  one,  have  often  attacked 
them  in  a  crowd,  with  noisy  cries,  and  have  thereby  driven  them 
away." 


296  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  H ATT  ERAS. 

"Are  they  only  killed  for  their  skin  and  oiU"  asked  Bell. 

"  By  Europeans,  yes,  but  the  Esquimaux  eat  them ;  they  live 
on  them,  and  pieces  of  seal's  flesh,  which  they  mix  with  blood 
and  fat,  are  not  at  all  unappetizing.  After  all,  it  depends* on  the 
way  it 's  treated,  and  I  shall  give  you  some  delicate  cutlets  if  you 
don't  mind  their  dark  color." 

"  We  shall  see  you  at  work,"  answered  Bell ;  "  I  '11  gladly  eat 
it,  Doctor." 

"  My  good  Bell,  as  much  as  you  please.  But,  however  much 
you  eat,  you  will  never  equal  a  Greenlander,  who  eats  ten  or 
fifteen  pounds  of  it  a  day." 

''  Fifteen  pounds  !  "  said  Bell.     "  What  stomachs  !  " 

"  Real  polar  stomachs,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  prodigious 
stomachs  which  can  be  dilated  at  will,  and,  I  ought  to  add,  can 
be  contracted  in  the  same  way,  so  that  they  support  starving  as 
well  as  gorging.  At  the  beginning  of  his  dinner,  the  Esquimaux 
is  thin ;  at  the  end,  he  is  fat,  and  not  to  be  recognized  !  It  is 
true  that  his  dinner  often  lasts  a  whole  day." 

"  Evidently,"  said  Altamont,  "  this  voracity  is  peculiar  to  the 
inhabitants  of  cold  countries  !  " 

"  I  think  so,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  in  the  arctic  regions  one 
has  to  eat  a  great  deal ;  it  is  a  condition  not  only  of  strength,  but 
of  existence.  Hence  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  gives  each  man 
eight  pounds  of  meat  a  day,  or  twelve  pounds  of  fish,  or  two 
pounds  of  pemmican." 

"  That 's  a  generous  supply,"  said  the  carpenter. 

"  But  not  so  much  as  you  imagine,  my  friend ;  and  an  Indian 
crammed  in  that  way  does  no  better  work  than  an  Englishman 
with  his  pound  of  beef  and  his  pint  of  beer  a  day." 

"  Then,  Doctor,  all  is  for  the  best." 

"True,  but  still  an  Esquimaux  meal  may  well  astonish  us. 
While  wintering  at  Boothia  Land,  Sir  John  Ross  was  always  sur- 
prised at  the  voracity  of  his  guides;  he  says  somewhere  that  two 
men  —  two,  you  understand  —  ate  in  one  morning  a  whole  quarter 
of  a  musk-ox ;  they  tear  the  meat  into  long  shreds,  which  they 
place  in  their  mouths ;  then  each  one,  cutting  off  at  his  lips  what 
his  mouth  cannot  hold,  passes  it  over  to  his  companion ;  or  else 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  297 

the  gluttons,  letting  the  shreds  hang  down  to  the  ground,  swal- 
low them  gradually,  as  a  boa-constrictor  swallows  an  animal,  and 
like  it  stretched  out  at  full  length  on  the  ground." 

"  Ugh  !  "  said  Bell,  "  the  disgusting  brutes  !  " 

*'  Every  one  eats  in  his  own  way,"  answered  the  American, 
philosophically. 

''  Fortunately  !  "  replied  the  doctor. 

"  Well,"  said  Altamont,  "  since  the  need  of  food  is  so  great  in 
these  latitudes,  I  'm  no  longer  surprised  that  in  accounts  of  arctic 
voyages  there  is  always  so  much  space  given  to  describing  the 
meals." 

"  You  are  right,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  and  it  is  a  remark 
which  I  have  often  made  myself;  it  is  not  only  that  plenty  of 
food  is  needed,  but  also  because  it  is  often  hard  to  get  it.  So  one 
is  always  thinking  of  it  and  consequently  always  talking  of  it !  " 

"  Still,"  said  Altamont,  "  if  my  memory  serves  me  right,  in  Nor- 
way, in  the  coldest  countries,  the  peasants  need  no  sucli  enormous 
supply  :  a  little  milk,  eggs,  birch-bark  bread,  sometimes  salmon, 
never  any  meat ;  and  yet  they  are  hardy  men." 

"It's  a  matter  of  organization,"  answered  the  doctor,  "and  one 
which  I  can't  explain.  Still,  I  fancy  that  the  second  or  third 
generation  of  Norwegians,  carried  to  Greenland,  would  end  by 
feeding  themselves  in  the  Greenland  way.  And  we  too,  my 
friends,  if  w^e  were  to  remain  in  this  lovely  country,  would  get  to 
live  like  the  Esquimaux,  not  to  say  like  gluttons." 

"Dr.  Clawbonny,"  said  Bell,  "it  makes  me  hungry  to  talk  in 
this  way." 

"  It  does  n't  make  me,"  answered  Altamont ;  "  it  disgusts  me 
rather,  and  makes  me  dislike  seal's  flesh.  But  I  fancy  we  shall 
have  an  opportunity  to  try  the  experiment.  If  I  'm  not  mistaken, 
I  see  some  living  body  down  there  on  the  ice." 

"  It 's  a  walrus,"  shouted  the  doctor ;  "  forward  silently  !  " 

Indeed,  the  animal  w^as  within  two  hundred  feet  of  the  hunters ; 
he  was  stretching  and  rolling  at  his  ease  in  the  pale  rays  of  the 
sun.  The  three  men  separated  so  as  to  surround  him  and  cut 
off  his  retreat ;  and  they  approached  within  a  few  fathoms'  lengths 
of  him,  hiding  behind  the  hummocks,  and  then  fired.  The  walrus 
13* 


298         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

rolled  over,  still  full  of  strength;  he  crushed  the  ice  in  his  attempts 
to  get  away ;  but  Altamont  attacked  him  with  his  hatchet,  and 
succeeded  in  cutting  his  dorsal  fins.  The  walrus  made  a  desperate 
resistance;  new  shots  finished  him,  and  he  remained  stretched 
lifeless  on  the  ice-field  stained  with  his  blood.  He  was  a  good- 
sized  animal,  being  nearly  fifteen  feet  long  from  his  muzzle  to  the 
end  of  his  tail,  and  he  would  certainly  furnish  many  barrels 
of  oil.  The  doctor  cut  out  the  most  savory  parts  of  the  flesh, 
and  he  left  the  corpse  to  the  mercies  of  a  few  crows,  which,  at  this 


season  of  the  year,  were  floating  through  the  air.  The  night 
began  to  fall.  They  thought  of  returning  to  Fort  Providence ; 
the  sky  had  become  perfectly  clear,  and  while  waiting  for  the 
moon  to  rise,  the  splendor  of  the  stars  was  magnificent. 

"  Come,  push  on,"  said  the  doctor,  "  it 's  growing  late ;«  to  be 
sure,  we  've  had  poor  luck ;  but  as  long  as  we  have  enough  for 
supper,  there  's  no  need  of  complaining.  Only  let  's  take  the 
shortest  way  and  try  not  to  get  lost ;  the  stars  will  help  us." 

But  yet  in  countries  where  the  North  Star  shines  directly 
above  the  traveller's  head,  it  is  hard  to  walk  by  it ;  in  fact,  when 
the  north  is  directlv  in  the  zenith,  it  is  hard  to  determine  the 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  299 

other  cardinal  points ;  fortunately  the  moon  and  great  constella- 
tions aided  the  doctor  in  determining  the  route.  In  order  to 
shorten  their  way,  he  resolved  to  avoid  the  sinuosities  of  the 
coast,  and  to  go  directly  across  the  land ;  it  was  more  direct,  but 
less  certain ;  so,  after  walking  for  a  few  hours,  the  little  band  had 
completely  lost  its  way.  They  thought  of  spending  the  night  in 
an  ice-house  and  waiting  till  the  next  day  to  find  out  where  they 
were,  even  if  they  should  have  to  return  along  the  shore ;  but 
the  doctor,  fearing  that  Hatteras  and  Johnson  might  be  anxious, 
insisted  on  their  going  on. 

"Duke  is  showing  us  the  way,"  he  said,  "and  he  can't  be 
wrong;  he  has  an  instinct  which  is  surer  than  needle  or  star. 
Let  us  follow  him." 

Duke  went  forward,  and  they  all  followed  confidently.  And 
they  were  justified  in  so  doing.  Soon  a  distant  light  appeared 
on  the  horizon ;  it  was  not  to  be  confounded  with  a  star  in  the 
low  clouds. 

"  There  's  our  light !  "  cried  the  doctor. 

"  Do  you  think  so.  Doctor  !  "  asked  the  carpenter. 

"  I  'm  sure  of  it.     Let  us  push  on." 

As  they  approached  the  light  grew  brighter,  and  soon  they 
enjoyed  its  full  brilliancy;  they  advanced  in  full  illumination, 
and  their  sharply  cut  shadows  ran  out  behind  them  over  the 
snow.  They  hastened  their  gait,  and  in  about  half  an  hour  they 
were  cUmbing  up  the  steps  of  Fort  Providence. 


CHAPTER    IX 

COLD    AND    HEAT. 


Hatteras  and  Johnson  had  waited  for  the  three  hunters  with 
some  uneasiness.  When  they  returned  they  were  delighted  to 
find  a  warm  and  comfortable  shelter.  That  evening  the  tem- 
perature had  decidedly  fallen,  and  the  thermometer  outside  stood 
at — 31°.       The    three    were    very   much   fatigued    and    almost 


300 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


frozen,  so  •  that  they  could  hardly  drag  one  foot  after  the  other ; 
fortunately  the  stoves  were  drawing  well;  the  doctor  became 
cook,  and  roasted  a  few  walrus  cutlets.  At  nine  o'clock  they 
all  five  sat  down  before  a  nourishing  supper. 

"On  my  word,"  said  Bell,  "at  the  risk  of  passing  for  an  Es- 
quimaux, I  will  say  that  food  is  an  important  thing  in  winter- 
ing; one  ought  to  take  what  one  can  get." 

Each  of  them  having  his  mouth  full,  it  was  impossible  for 
any  one  to  answer  the  carpenter  at  once ;  but  the  doctor  made 
a  sign  that  he  was  right.  The  walrus  cutlets  were  declared 
excellent ;  or,  if  they  made  no  declarations  about  it,  they  ate  it 
all  up,  which  is  much  more  to  the  purpose.  At  dessert  the 
doctor  made  the  coffee,  as  was  his  custom;  he  intrusted  this 
task  to  no  one  else;  he  made  it  at  the  table,  in  an  alcohol 
machine,  and  served  it  boiling  hot.  He  wanted  it  hot  enough 
to  scald  his  throat,  or  else  he  did  not  think  it  worth  drinking. 
That  evening  he  drank  it  so  hot  that  his  companions  could  not 
imitate  him. 

"  But  you  '11  burn  yourself.  Doctor,"  said  Altamont. 

"  0  no  !  "  was  the  answer. 

"  Is  your  throat  lined  with  copper  ] "  asked  Johnson. 

"  No,  my  friends  ; 
I  advise  you  to  take 
counsel  from  me. 
There  are  some  per- 
sons, and  I  am  of 
the  number,  who 
drink  coffee  at  a 
temperature  of 

131°." 

"  One       hundred 
and     thirty-one    de- 
grees ! "  cried  Alta- 
mont ;  "but  the  hand  can't  support  that  heat !  " 

"  Evidently,  Altamont,  since  the  hand  can't  endure  more  than 
122°  in  the  water;  but  the  palate  and  tongue  are  not  so  tender 
as  the  hand ;  they  can  endure  much  more." 


"  They  advanced  in  full  illumination,  and  their  sharply  cut  shadows  ran  out 
behind  them  over  the  snow."  —  Page  299. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


;oi 


"  You  surprise  me,"  said  Altamont. 

"  Well,  I  'm  going  to  convince  you." 

And  the  doctor,  bringing  the  thermometer  from  the  parlor, 
plunged  the  bulb  into  his  cup  of  boiling  coifee ;  he  waited  untd 
it  stood  at  a  131'^,  and  then  he  drank  it  with  evident  joy.  Bell 
tried  to  do  the  same  thing,  but  he  burned  himself  and  shouted 
aloud. 

"  You  are  not  used  to  it,"  said  the  doctor. 

"  Clawbonny,"  asked  Altamont,  "  can  you  tell  me  the  higliest 
temperature  the  human  body  can  support  T' 

''  Easily,"  answered 
the  doctor ;  "  various 
experiments  have 
been  made  and  curi- 
ous facts  have  been 
found  out.  I  remem- 
ber one  or  two,  and 
they  serve  to  show 
that  one  can  get  ac- 
customed to  anything, 
even  to  not  cooking 
where  a  beefsteak 
would  cook.  So,  the 
story  goes  that  some 
girls  employed  at  the 
public  bakery  of  the 
city  of  La  Roche- 
foucauld, in  France, 
could  remain  ten 
minutes  in  the  oven 
in  a  temperature  of 
300°,  that  is  to  say, 
89°  hotter  than  boiling  water,  while  potatoes  and  meat  were 
cooking  around  them." 

"  What  girls  !  "  said  Altamont. 

"  Here  is  another  indisputable  example.  Nine  of  our  fellow- 
countrymen  in  1778,  Fordj^ce,  Banks,  Solander,  Blagden,  Home, 


302 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


North,  Lord  Seaforth,  and  Captain  Phillips,  endured  a  tempera- 
ture of  295°,  while  eggs  and  roast  beef  were  cooking  near  them." 
"And  they  were  Englishmen!"  said  Bell,  with  an  accent  of 
pride. 

"  Yes,  Bell,"  answered  the  doctor. 

"  0,  Americans  could  have  done  better  ! "  said  Altariiont. 
"  They  would  have  roasted,"  said  the  doctor,  laughing. 
''And  why  not?"  answered  the  American. 

"At  any  rate,  they  have  not  tried;  still,  I  stand  up  for  my 
countrymen.  There  's  one  thing  I  must  not  forget ;  it  is  incred- 
ible if  one  can  doubt  of  the  accuracy  of  the  witnesses.  The 
Duke  of  Ragusa  and  Dr.  Jung,  a  Frenchman  and  an  Austrian, 
saw  a  Turk  dive  into  a  bath  which  stood  at  170°." 

"  But  it  seems  to  me,"  said  Johnson,  that  that  is  not  equal 
to  other  people  you  mentioned." 

"  I  beg  3"0ur  pardon,"  answered 
the  doctor;  there  is  a  great  dif- 
ference between  entering  warm  air 
and  entering  warm  water;  warm 
air  induces  perspiration,  and  that 
protects  the  skin,  while  in  such 
hot  water  there  is  no  perspiration 
and  the  skin  is  burned.  Hence  a 
bath  is  seldom  hotter  than  107°. 
^  This  Turk  must  have  been  an  ex- 

\1  ^-^  ^   ''h  "'^  traordjnary  man  to  have  been  able 

^  to  endure  so  great  heat." 

"  Dr.  Clawbonny,"  asked  Johnson,  "  what  is  the  usual  tem- 
perature of  living  beings'?" 

"It  varies  very  much,"  answered  the  doctor;  "birds  are  the 
warmest  blooded,  and  of  these  the  duck  and  hen  are  the  most 
remarkable;  their  temperature  is  above  110°,  while  that  of  the 
owl  is  not  more  than  104°;  then  come  the  mammalia,  men;  the 
temperature  of  Englishmen  is  generally  101°." 

"  I  'm  sure  Mr.  Altamont  is  going  to  claim  something  more 
for  the  Americans,"  said  Johnson. 

"Well,"  said  Altamont,  "there  are  some  very  warm;  but  as 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  303 

I  've  never  placed  a  thermometer  into  their  thorax  or  under  their 
tongue,  I  can't  be  sure  about  it." 

"  The  difference  of  temperature,"  resumed  the  doctor,  **  be- 
tween men  of  different  races  is  quite  imperceptible  when  they 
are  placed  in  the  same  circumstances,  whatever  be  the  nature  of 
their  bringing-up ;  I  should  add,  that  the  temperature  varies  but 
little  between  men  at  the  equator  and  at  the  pole." 

"So,"  said  Altamont,  "our  temperature  is  about  the  same 
here  as  in  England  1" 

"About  the  same,"  answered  the  doctor;  "as  to  the  other 
mammalia,  their  temperature  is  a  trifle  higher  than  that  of  man. 
The  horse  is  about  the  same,  as  well  as  the  hare,  the  elephant, 
the  porpoise,  the  tiger;  but  the  cat,  the  squirrel,  the  rat,  pan- 
ther, sheep,  ox,  dog,  monkey,  goat,  reach  103° ;  and  the  warmest 
of  all,  the  pig,  goes  above  104°." 

"  That  is  humiliating  for  us,"  said  Altamont. 

"  Then  come  amphibious  animals  and  fish,  whose  temperature 
varies  very  much  according  to  that  of  the  water.  The  serpent 
does  not  go  above  86°,  the  frog  70°,  and  the  shark  the  same  in 
a  medium  a  degree  and  a  half  cooler;  insects  appear  to  have 
the  temperature  of  the  water  and  the  air." 

"  That  is  all  very  well,"  said  Hatteras,  who  had  not  yet  spoken, 
"  and  I  'm  much  obliged  to  the  doctor  for  his  information ;  but 
we  are  talking  as  if  we  had  to  endure  torrid  heats.  Would  it 
not  be  wiser  to  talk  about  the  cold,  to  know  to  what  we  are 
exposed,  and  what  is  the  lowest  temperature  that  has  ever  been 
observed  ] " 

"  True,"  added  Johnson. 

"There's  nothing  easier,"  continued  the  doctor,  "and  I  may 
be  able  to  give  you  some  information." 

"  I  dare  say,"  said  Johnson  ;  "you  know  everything." 

"  My  friends,  I  only  know  what  others  have  taught  me,  and 
when  I  've  finished  you  '11  know  exactly  as  much.  This  is  what 
I  kiiow  about  cold  and  the  lowest  temperatures  observed  in 
Europe.  A  great  many  noteworthy  winters  have  been  known, 
and  it  seems  as  if  the  severest  has  a  periodic  return  about  every 
forty-one   years,  —  a  period  which  nearly  corresponds  with  the 


304  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

greater  appearance  of  spots  on  the  sun.  I  can  mention  the 
winter  of  1364,  when  the  Rhone  was  frozen  as  far  as  Aries; 
that  of  1408,  when  the  Danube  was  frozen  its  whole  length,  and 
when  wolves  ran  over  to  Jutland  without  wetting  their  feet ; 
that  of  1509,  during  which  the  Mediterranean  at  Cette  and 
Marseilles  and  the  Adriatic  at  Venice  were  frozen,  and  the  Baltic 
as  late  as  April  1*0;  that  of  1608,  which  killed  all  the  cattle  in 
England;  that  of  1789,  when  the  Thames  w^as  frozen  —  as  far 
as  Gravesend,  six  leagues  —  below  London;  that  of  1813,  of 
w^hich  the  French  retain  such  a  terrible  memory  ;  and  that  of 
1829,  the  earliest  and  longest  winter  of  this  century.  So  much 
for  Europe." 

"  But  what  temperature  has  been  reached  above  the  Arctic 
Circle  % "  asked  Altamont. 

"  Really,"  said  the  doctor,  "  I  believe  w^e  have  experienced  the 
greatest  cold  that  has  ever  been  observed,  since  our  spirit  ther- 
mometer indicated  one  day  — 72° ;  and  if  I  remember  aright,  the 
lowest  temperatures  ever  observed  before  were  only  — 61°  at  Mel- 
ville Island,  —65°  at  Port  Felix,  and  —70°  at  Fort  Reliance." 

"  Yes,"  said  Hatteras ;  "  we  were  delayed,  and  unfortunately 
too,  by  a  very  severe  winter !  " 

"You  were  delayed r'  exclaimed  Altamont,  staring  at  the 
captain. 

"  In  our  journey  westward,"  interposed  the  doctor,  hastily. 

''  So,"  said  Altamont,  continuing  the  conversation,  "  the  maxi- 
mum and  minimum  temperatures  endured  by  men  vary  about 
two  hundred  degrees'?" 

"Yes,"  answered  the  doctor;  "a  thermometer  exposed  to  the 
open  air  and  sheltered  from  reflection  has  never  risen  above  135°, 
and  in  the  greatest  colds  it  never  falls  below  — 72°.  So,  my 
friends,  you  see  we  can  take  our  ease." 

"  But  still,"  said  Johnson,  "  if  the  sun  were  to  be  extinguished 
suddenly,  would  not  the  earth  endure  greater  cold  1 " 

"  The  sun  won't  be  extinguished,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  but 
even  if  it  should  be,  the  temperature  would  not  fall  any  lower, 
probably,  than  what  I  have  mentioned." 

"  That 's  stran<^e." 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  305 

"  0,  I  know  it  used  to  be  said  that  in  the  space  outside  of  the 
atmosphere  the  temperature  was  thousands  of  degrees  below 
zero !  but  since  the  experiments  of  the  Frenchman  Fourrier, 
this  has  been  disproved ;  he  has  shown  that  if  the  earth  were 
placed  in  a  medium  void  of  all  heat,  that  the  temperature  at 
the  pole  would  be  much  greater,  and  that  there  would  be  very 
great  differences  between  night  and  day;  so,  my  friends,  it  is 
no  colder  a  few  millions  of  miles  from  the  earth  than  it  is  here." 

"  Tell  me.  Doctor,"  said  Altamont,  "  is  not  the  temperature 
of  America  lower  than  that  of  other  countries  of  the  world  1 " 

"  Without  doubt ;  but  don't  be  proud  of  it,"  answered  the  doc- 
tor with  a  laugh. 

"  And  what  is  the  reason  % " 

"  No  very  satisfactory  explanation  has  ever  been  given ;  so  it 
occurred  to  Hadley  that  a  comet  had  come  into  collision  with  the 
earth  and  had  altered  the  position  of  its  axis  of  rotation,  that 
is  to  say,  of  its  poles ;  according  to  him,  the  North  Pole,  which 
used  to  be  situated  at  Hudson's  Bay,  found  itself  carried  farther 
east,  and  the  land  at  the  old  Pole  preserved  a  greater  cold,  which 
long  centuries  of  the  sun  have  not  yet  heated." 

"  And  you  do  not  admit  this  hypothesis  % " 

*^Not  for  a  moment;  for  what  is  true  of  the  eastern  coast  of 
America  is  not  true  of  the  western  coast,  which  has  a  higher 
temperature.  No  !  we  can  prove  that  the  isothermal  lines  differ 
from  the  terrestrial  pjlrallels,  and  that  is  all." 

"  Do  you  know,  Doctor,"  said  Johnson,  "  that  it  is  pleasant  to 
talk  about  cold  in  our  present  circumstances]" 

"  Exactly,  Johnson ;  we  can  call  practice  to  the  aid  of  theory. 
These  countries  are  a  vast  laboratory  where  curious  experiments 
on  low  temperatures  can  be  made.  Only,  be  always  careful ;  if 
any  part  of  your  body  is  frozen,  rub  it  at  once  with  snow  to 
restore  the  circulation  of  the  blood ;  and  if  you  come  near  the  fire, 
be  careful,  for  you  may  burn  your  hands  or  feet  without  noticing 
it ;  then  amputation  would  be  necessary,  and  we  should  try  to 
leave  nothing  of  ourselves  in  these  lands.  And  now  I  think  it 
would  be  well  for  us  to  seek  a  few  hours  of  sleep." 

"  Willingly,"  answered  the  doctor's  companions. 

T 


306  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"  Who  keeps  watch  over  the  stove  ? " 

"  I  do,"  answered  Bell. 

"  Well,  my  friend,  take  care  the  fire  does  not  fall  out,  for  it 's 
most  abominably  cold  this  evening." 

"  Don't  be  uneasy,  Doctor ;  it 's  very  sharp,  but  see,  the  sky  is 
all  ablaze ! " 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  doctor,  going  up  to  the  window,  "  it 's  a 
magnificent  aurora.  W^hat  a  glorious  sight !  I  should  never 
get  tired  of  looking  at  it ! " 


In  fact,  the  doctor  admired  all  these  cosmic  phenomena,  to 
which  his  companions  paid  but  little  attention ;  he  had  noticed, 
besides,  that  their  appearance  always  preceded  disturbances  of 
the  magnetic  needle,  and  he  was  preparing  some  observations  on 
the  subject  which  he  intended  for  Admiral  Fitz-Roy's  "  Weather 
Book." 

Soon,  while  Bell  was  on  watch  near  the  stove,  all  the  rest, 
stretched  on  their  beds,  slept  quietly. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  307 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE   PLEASURES    OF    WINTER-QUARTERS. 

There  is  a  gloomy  monotony  about  life  at  the  Pole.  Man  is 
wholly  the  sport  of  the  changes  of  the  weather,  which  alternates 
between  intense  cold  and  severe  storms  with  savage  relentlessness. 
The  greater  part  of  the  time  it  is  impossible  to  set  foot  out  of 
doors ;  one  is  imprisoned  in  the  hut  of  ice.  Long  months  pass  in 
this  way,  so  that  men  lead  the  life  of  moles. 

The  next  day  the  thermometer  was  several  degrees  lower,  and 
the  air  was  full  of  clouds  of  snow,  which  absorbed  all  the  light  of 
day.  The  doctor  saw  himself  kept  within  doors,  and  he  folded  iiis 
arms ;  there  was  nothing  to  be  done,  except  every  hour  to  clear 
away  the  entrance-hall  and  to  repolish  the  ice-walls  which  the 
heat  within  made  damp ;  but  the  snow-house  was  very  finely 
built,  and  the  snow  added  to  its  resistance  by  augmenting  the 
thickness  of  its  walls. 

The  stores  were  equally  secure.  All  the  objects  taken  from 
the  ship  had  been  arranged  in  order  in  these  "  Docks  of  Merchan- 
dise," as  the  doctor  called  them.  Now,  although  these  stores 
were  at  a  distance  of  only  sixty  feet  from  the  house,  it  was  yet  on 
some  days  almost  impossible  to  get  to  them;  hence  a  certain 
quantity  of  provisions  had  always  to  be  kept  in  the  kitchen  for 
daily  needs. 

They  had  been  wise  in  unloading  the  Porpoise.  The  ship  was 
exposed  to  a  gentle,  but  persistent  pressure,  which  was  gradually 
crushing  it ;  it  was  evident  that  nothing  could  be  done  with  its 
fragments;  still  the  doctor  kept  hoping  to  be  able  to  build  a 
launch  out  of  them  to  return  to  England  in,  but  the  time  for 
building  it  had  not  yet  come. 

So  for  the  most  part  the  five  men  remained  in  complete  idle- 
ness. Hatteras  was  pensive  and  always  lying  on  ,the  bed ;  Alta- 
mont  was  drinking  or  sleeping,  and  the  doctor  took  good  care  not 


308 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT T ERAS. 


to  rouse  him  from  his  slumbers,  for  he  was  always  afraid  of  some 

distressing  quarrel.    These  two  men  seldom  spoke  to  one  another. 

So  during  meal-time  the  prudent  Clawbonny  always  took  care 

to  guide  the  conver- 
sation and  to  direct 
it  in  such  a  way  as 
not  to  offend  the 
susceptibilities  of 
either;  but  he  had 
a  great  deal  to  do. 
He  did  his  best 
to  instruct,  distract, 
and  interest  his  com- 
panions \  when  he 
was  not  arranging 
his  notes  about  the  expedition,  he  read  aloud  some  history, 
geography,  or  work  on  meteorology,  which  had  reference  to  their 
condition;  he  presented  things  pleasantly  and  philosophically, 
deriving  wholesome  in- 
struction from  the  slight- 
est incidents ;  his  inex- 
haustible memory  never 
played  him  false  ;  he  ap- 
plied his  doctrines  to  the 
persons  who  were  with 
him,  reminding  them  of 
such  or  such  a  thing 
which  happened  under 
such  or  such  circumstances ;  and  he  filled  out  his  theories  by  the 
force  of  personal  arguments. 

This  worthy  man  may  be  called  the  soul  of  this  little  world,  a 
soul  glowing  with  frankness  and  justice.  His  companions  had 
perfect  confidence  in  him;  he  even  improved  Captain  Hatteras, 
who,  besides,  was  very  fond  of  him ;  he  made  his  words,  manners, 
and  custom  so  agreeable,  that  the  life  of  these  five  men  within  six 
degrees  of  the  Pole  seemed  perfectly  natural ;  when  he  was  speak- 
ing, any  one  would  have  imagined  he  was  in  his  office  in  Liver- 


He  did  his  best  to  instruct  and  interest  his  companions."  —  Page  308. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  309 

pool.  And  yet  this  situation  was  unlike  that  of  castaways  on 
the  islands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  those  Robinsons  whose  touching 
history  always  aroused  the  envy  of  their  readers.  There,  the 
natural  richness  offers  a  thousand  different  resources;  a  little 
imagination  and  effort  suffice  to  secure  material  happiness ; 
nature  aids  man ;  hunting  and  fishing  supply  all  his  wants ;  the 
trees  grow  to  aid  him,  caverns  shelter  him,  brooks  slake  his 
thirst,  dense  thickets  hide  him  from  the  sun,  and  severe  cold 
never  comes  upon  him  in  the  winter;  a  grain  tossed  into  the 
earth  brings  forth  a  bounteous  return  a  few  months  later.  There, 
outside  of  society,  everything  is  found  to  make  man  happy.  And 
then  these  happy  isles  lie  in  the  path  of  ships ;  the  castaway  can 
hope  to  be  picked  up,  and  he  can  wait  in  patience. 

But  here  on  the  coast  of  New  America  how  great  is  the  differ- 
ence !  This  comparison  would  continually  occur  to  the  doctor, 
but  he  never  mentioned  it  to  the  others,  and  he  struggled  against 
the  enforced  idleness. 

He  yearned  ardently  for  the  spring,  in  order  to  resume  his  ex- 
cursions; and  yet  he  was  anxious  about  it,  for  he  foresaw  difficulties 
between  Hatteras  and  Altamont.  If  they  pushed  on  to  the  Pole, 
there  would  necessarily  be  rivalry  between  the  two  men.  Hence 
he  had  to  prepare  for  the  worst,  and  still,  as  far  as  he  could,  to 
try  to  pacify  these  rivals ;  but  to  reconcile  an  American  and  an 
Englishman,  two  men  hostile  to  one  another  from  their  birth,  one 
endowed  with  real  insular  prejudice,  the  other  with  the- adventu- 
rous, irreverent  spirit  of  his  country,  was  no  easy  task.  When  the 
doctor  thought  of  their  eager  rivalry,  which  in' fact  was  one  of 
nationalities,  he  could  not  help,  not  shrugging  his  shoulders,  but 
lamentmg  human  weakness.  He  would  often  talk  to  Johnson  on 
this  subject ;  he  and  the  old  sailor  agreed  in  the  matter ;  they 
were  uncertain  what  view  to  take,  and  they  foresaw  complications 
in  the  future. 

Still,  the  bad  weather  continued ;  they  could  not  leave  Fort 
Providence  even  for  an  hour.  Night  and  day  they  had  to  remain 
in  the  snow-house.  They  all  found  it  tedious,  except  the  doctor, 
who  found  diversion  for  himself. 

"  Is  n't  there  any  way  we  can  amuse  ourselves  li "  said  Altamont 


310  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

one  evening.  "  This  is  n't  really  living,  lying  here  like  sluggish 
reptiles  all  winter." 

"  It 's  a  pity,"  said  the  doctor,  "  that  we  are  too  few  to  organize 
any  system  of  distractions." 

*'  Do  you  mean  it  would  be  easier  for  us  to  combat  idleness  if 
there  were  more  of  us  1 "  asked  the  American. 

"  Yes ;  when  whole  crews  have  wintered  in  boreal  regions,  they 
have  found  out  the  way  to  avoid  idleness." 

"To  tell  the  truth,"  said  Altamont,  "I  should  like  to  know 
how  they  did ;  they  must  have  been  very  ingenious  to  get  any 
fun  out  of  these  surroundings.  They  did  n't  ask  one  another 
riddles,  I  suppose]" 

"  No,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  but  they  introduced  into  these 
lands  two  great  means  of  amusement,  the  press  and  the  theatre." 

"  What !  did  they  have  a  newspaper  1 "  asked  the  American. 

"  Did  they  act  plays  1 "  asked  Bell. 

"  Yes,  and  with  much  amusement.  While  he  was  wintering  at 
Melville  Island,  Captain  Parry  ottered  his  crews  these  two  enter- 
tainments, and  they  enjoyed  them  very  much." 

"  Well,"  said  Johnson,  "  I  should  have  liked  to  be  there  ;  it 
must  have  been  funny  enough." 

"  Funny  indeed ;  Lieutenant  Beecher  was  manager  of  the 
theatre,  and  Captain  Sabine  editor  of  the  '  Winter  Chronicle,  or 
Gazette  of  North  Georgia.'  " 

''Good  names,"  said  Altamont. 

**  The  paper  appeared  every  Monday  morning,  from  November 
1,  1819,  to  March  20,  1820.  It  contained  an  account  of  every- 
thing that  happened,  the  hunts,  accidents,  incidents,  and  of 
the  weather;  there  were  stories  written  for  it;  to  be  sure,  it 
lacked  the  humor  of  Sterne,  and  the  delightful  articles  of  the 
'  Daily  Telegraph '  ;  but  they  got  amusement  from  it ;  its  read- 
ers were  not  over-critical,  and  I  fancy  no  journalists  ever  enjoyed 
their  occupation  more." 

"  Well,"  said  Altamont,  "  I  should  like  to  hear  some  extracts 
from  this  paper,  my  dear  Doctor ;  its  articles  must  all  have  been 
frozen  solid." 

"No,  no,"  answered  the  doctor;    "at  any  rate,  what  would 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


311 


have  seemed  simple  enough  to  the  Liverpool  Philosophical  So- 
ciety, or  the  London  Literary  Institution,  was  perfectly  satis- 
factory to  the  crews  beneath  the  snow.    Do  you  want  a  sample  1, " 

*'  What !     Do  you  remember  —  " 

"  No,  but  you  had  *  Parry's  Voyages '  on  board  the  Porpoise^ 
and  I  can  read  you  his  own  account." 

"  Do  !  "  shouted  the  doctor's  companions. 


There  's  nothing  easier.' 


I    ^^^hS  ,^-' 


The  doctor  got  the  book  from  the  shelves,  and  soon  found  the 
passage. 

"  See  here,"  he  said,  "  here  are  some  extracts  from  the  news- 
paper.    It  is  a  letter  addressed  to  the  editor  :  — 

**  *  It  is  with  genuine  satisfaction  that  your  plan  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  newspaper  has  been  received.  I  am  convinced  that 
under  your  charge  it  will  furnish  us  with  a  great  deal  of  amuse- 
ment, and  will  serve  to  lighten  materially  the  gloom  of  our  hun- 
dred days  of  darkness. 

"  *  The  interest  which  I,  for  my  part,  take  in  it  has  caused  me 
to  examine  the  effect  of  your  announcement  upon  the  members  of 
our  society,  and  I  can  assure  you,  to  use  the  consecrated  phrase 
of  the  London  press,  that  it  has  produced  a  profound  impression 
upon  the  public. 


312  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

"  '  The  day  after  the  appearance  of  your  prospectus,  there  was  on 
board  an  unusual  and  unprecedented  demand  for  ink.  The  green 
cloth  of  our  tables  was  suddenly  covered  with  a  deluge  of  quill- 
pens,  to  the  great  injury  of  one  of  our  servants,  who,  in  trying  to 
remove  them,  got  one  under  his  nail. 

" '  Finally,  I  know  that  Sergeant  Martin  has  had  no  less  than 
nine  pocket-knives  to  sharpen. 

"  *  Our  tables  are  groaning  beneath  the  unaccustomed  weight 
of  inkstands,  which  had  not  seen  the  light  for  two  months ;  and  it 
is  even  whispered  that  the  depths  of  the  hold  have  been  often 
opened  to  secure  many  reams  of  paper,  which  did  not  expect  to 
issue  so  soon  from  their  place  of  repose. 

"  '  I  shall  not  forget  to  say  to  you  that  I  have  some  suspicions 
that  an  effort  will  be  made  to  slip  into  your  box  some  articles, 
which,  lacking  complete  originality,  and  not  being  wholly  unpub- 
lished, may  not  suit  your  plan.  I  can  affirm  that  no  later  than 
last  evening  an  author  was  seen  bending  over  his  desk,  holding 
in  one  hand  an  open  volume  of  the  "  Spectator,"  while  with  the 
other  he  was  thawing  his  ink  by  the  flame  of  the  lamp.  It  is 
useless  to  recommend  you  to  keep  a  lookout  against  such  devices ; 
we  must  not  see  reappearing  in  the  "  Winter  Chronicle  "  what  our 
ancestors  used  to  read  at  breakfast  more  than  a  century  ago.' " 

"Well,  well,"  said  Altamont,  when  the  doctor  had  finished 
reading,  "  there  is  really  good  humor  in  that,  and  the  writer  must 
have  been  a  bright  fellow." 

"  Bright  is  the  word,"  answered  the  doctor.  "  Stop  a  moment, 
here  is  an  amusing  advertisement :  — 

"  '  Wanted.  A  middle-aged,  respectable  woman  to  help  dress 
the  ladies  of  the  troupe  of  the  "  Theatre  Royal  of  North  Georgia." 
Suitable  salary  given,  tea  and  beer  free.  Address  the  Committee 
of  the  theatre.  —  N.  B.    A  widow  preferred.'  " 

"  They  were  not  disgusted,  at  any  rate,"  said  Johnson. 

"And  did  they  get  the  widow T'  asked  Bell. 

"  Probably,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  for  here  is  an  answer  ad- 
dressed to  the  committee  :  — 

" '  Gentlemen  :  I  am  a  widow,  twenty-six  years  old,  and  I  can 
produce  warm  testimonials  as  to  my  morals  and  talents.  .  But 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  313 

before  taking  charge  of  the  dresses  of  the  actresses  of  your  thea- 
tre, I  am  anxious  to  know  if  they  intend  to  keep  their  trousers  on, 
and  whether  I  can  have  the  aid  of  some  strong  sailors  to  lace 
their  corsets  properly.  This  being  arranged,  gentlemen,  you  may 
count  upon  your  servant. 

" '  A.  B. 
" '  P.  S.     Can  you  not  substitute  brandy  for  beer  1 ' " 

"  Bravo  !  "  shouted  Altamont.  *'  I  suppose  they  had  ladies'- 
maids  to  lace  you  by  the  capstan.  Well,  they  were  jolly 
fellows  ! " 

*'  Like  all  who  do  what  they  set  out  to  do,"  remarked  Hatteras. 

Hatteras  uttered  these  words,  and  then  he  relapsed  into  his 
usual  silence.  The  doctor,  unwilling  to  dwell  on  that  subject, 
hastened  to  resume  his  reading. 

"See  here,"  he  said,  "here  is  a  picture  of  arctic  sufferings;  it 
may  be  varied  infinitely ;  but  a  few  of  the  observations  are  wise 
enough  ;  for  instance  :  — 

*  "  To  go  out  in  the  morning  to  take  the  air,  and  on  setting  foot 
off  the  ship,  to  take  a  cold  bath  in  the  cook's  trough. 

"  '  To  go  on  a  hunting-party,  get  near  a  fine  reindeer,  take  aim, 
try  to  fire,  and  miss  the  shot  on  account  of  a  damp  cap. 

"  '  To  start  out  with  a  piece  of  fresh  bread  in  the  pocket,  and 
when  one  gets  hungry  to  find  it  frozen  hard  enough  to  break  one's 
teeth. 

"  '  To  leave  the  table  suddenly  on  hearing  a  wolf  is  in  sight  of 
the  ship,  and  to  come  back  and  find  one's  dinner  eaten  by  the  cat. 

" '  To  return  from  a  walk  rapt  in  thought,  and  to  be  awakened 
suddenly  by  the  embrace  of  a  bear.' 

"  You  see,  my  friends,"  said  the  doctor,  "  we  should  not  find  it 
hard  to  imagine  other  polar  troubles ;  but  from  the  moment  it 
becomes  necessary  to  endure  these  miseries,  it  would  be  a  pleas- 
ure to  narrate  them." 

"  Upon  my  word,"  said  Altamont,  "  that 's  an  amusing  paper, 
and  it 's  a  pity  we  can't  subscribe  to  it." 

"  Suppose  we  should  start  one,"  suggested  Johnson. 

"  We  five  !  "  answered  Clawbonny ;   "  we  should  all  be  editors, 
and  there  would  be  no  readers." 
14 


314         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

*'  Nor  audience  either,  if  we  should  act  a  play,"  said  Altamont. 

"Tell  us,  Doctor,"  said  Johnson,  "something  about  Captain 
Parry's  theatre;   did  they  act  new  plays  there  1" 

"  Of  course ;  at  first  they  made  use  of  two  volumes  which  were 
put  on  board  of  the  Hector,  and  they  had  plays  every  fortnight ; 
but  soon  they  had  acted  all ;  then  they  resorted  to  original  au- 
thors, and  Parry  himself  wrote  a  suitable  play  for  the  Christmas 
holidays ;  it  was  very  successful,  and  was  called  '  The  Northwest 
Passage,  or  the  End  of  the  Voyage.'" 

"A  capital  title,"  answered  Altamont;  "but  I  confess,  if  I  had 
to  write  on- that  subject,  I  should  be  puzzled  about  the  end." 

"  You  are  right,"  said  Bell ;  "  who  can  say  how  it  will  end  %  '* 

"True,"  answered  the  doctor;  "but  why  bother  about  the  end, 
since  the  beginning  is  so  favorable  ?  Let  us  trust  in  Providence, 
my  friends ;  let  us  act  our  part  well,  and  since  the  end  depends 
on  the  Author  of  all  things,  let  us  have  confidence  in  him ;  he 
will  know  what  to  do  with  us." 

"Let  us  sleep  on  it,"  answered  Johnson;  "it  is  late,  and  since 
bedtime  has  come,  let  us  turn  in." 

"  You  are  in  a  great  hurry,  my  old  friend,"  said  the  doctor. 

"  Naturally  enough,  Doctor,  I  am  so  comfortable  in  bed  !  And 
then  my  dreams  are  pleasant.  I  dream  of  warm  countries;  or 
that,  to  tell  the  truth,  half  of  my  life  is  spent  at  the  equator  and 
half  at  the  Pole!" 

"The  deuce,"  said  Altamont,  "you  have  a  happy  tempera- 
ment." 

"  True,"  answered  the  boatswain. 

"  Well,  it  would  be  cruel  to  detain  Johnson  any  longer.  His 
tropical  sun  is  waiting  for  him.     Let  us  go  to  bed." 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


315 


CHAPTER    XI. 


DISQUIETING    TRACES. 

In  the  night  of  April  26-27,  the  weather  changed;  the 
•thermometer  fell  many  degrees,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Doc- 
tor's House  perceived  it  from  the  cold  which  made  its  way  be- 
neath their  coverings;  Altamont,  who  was  watching  the  stove, 
took  care  not  to  let  the  fire  get  low,  and  he  was  kept  busy  put- 
ting on  enough  coal  to  keep  the  temperature  at  50°.  This  cold 
weather  announced  the  end  of  the  storm,  and  the  doctor  was  glad 
of  it,  for  now  they  could  resume  their  usual  occupations,  their 
hunting,  excursions, 
and  explorations ; 
this  would  put  an 
end  to  the  apathy 
of  their  loneliness, 
which  in  time  sours 
even  the  finest  char- 
acters. 

The  next  morn- 
ing the  doctor  rose 
early,  and  made  his 
way  over  the  drifts 
to  the  lighthouse. 
The  wind  was  from 
the  north ;  the  air 
was  clear,  the  snow 
was  hard  under  his 
feet.  Soon  his  five 
companions  had  left 
Doctor's  House  ; 
their  first  care  was 
to  dig  away  the  drifted  snow,  which  now  disguised  the  plateau  ;  it 


316  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTEBAS. 

would  have  been  impossible  to  discover  any  traces  of  life  upon  it,  for 
the  tempest  had  buried  all  inequalities  beneath  fifteen  feet  of  snow. 
After  the  snow  was  cleared  away  from  the  house,  it  was 
necessary  to  restore  its  architectural  outline.  This  was  very 
easy,  and  after  the  ice  was  removed  a  few  blows  with  the  snow- 
knife  gave  it  its  normal  thickness.  After  two  hours'  work  the 
granite  appeared,  and  access  to  the  stores  and  the  powder-house 
was  free.  But  since,  in  these  uncertain  climates,  such  things  can 
happen  every  day,  a  new  supply  of  food  was  carried  to  the 
kitchen.  They  were  all  wearied  of  salt  food  and  yearned  for 
fresh  meat,  and  so  the  hunters  were  charged  with  changing  the 
bill  of  fare,  and  they  prepared  to  set  out. 


Still  the  end  of  April  did  not  bring  with  it  the  polar  spring, 
which  was  yet  six  weeks  off;  the  sun's  rays  were  still  too  feeble 
to  melt  the  snow  or  to  nourish  the  few  plants  of  these  regions. 
They  feared  lest  animals  should  be  scarce,  both  birds  and  quad- 
rupeds. But  a  hare,  a  few  ptarmigans,  even  a  young  fox,  would 
have  been  welcome  to  the  table  of  Doctor's  House,  and  the  hunt- 
ers resolved  to  shoot  whatever  should  come  within  range. 

The  doctor,  Altamont,  and  Bell  determined  to  explore  the 
country.     Altamont,  they  felt  sure  from  his  habits,  was  a  bold 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


317 


and  skilful  hunter,  and,  with  all  his  bragging,  a  capital  shot.  So 
he  went  with  the  hunters,  as  did  Duke,  who  was  equally  skilful 
and  less  prone  to  boasting. 

The  three  companions  ascended  the  east  cone  and  set  out 
towards  the  large  white  plains ;  but  they  had  gone  no  farther 
than  two  or  three  miles  before  they  saw  numerous  tracks ;  from 
that  point,  they  ran  down  to  the  shore  of  Victoria  Bay,  and  ap- 
peared to  surround  Fort  Providence  with  a  series  of  concentric 
circles. 

After  they  had  followed  these  footprints  for  a  short  time,  the 
doctor  said,  — 

"Well,  that  is  clear  enough." 


"  Too  clear,"  said  Bell ;  "  they  are  bear  tracks." 

"Good  game,"  continued  Altamont,  "and  there  is  only  one 
fault  in  it  to-day." 

"  What 's  that  ] "  asked  the  doctor. 

"  The  abundance,"  answered  the  American. 

"  What  do  you  mean  % "  asked  Bell. 
.     "I  mean  that  there  are  distinct  tracks  of  five  bears  ;  and  five 
bears  are  a  good  many  for  five  men." 

"  Are  you  sure  of  what  you  say  % "  asked  the  doctor. 


318         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

"  Judge  for  yourself ;  this  mark  is  different  from  any  other ; 
the  claws  on  this  one  are  farther  apart  than  those.  Here  is  the 
print  of  a  smaller  bear.  If  you  compare  them  together,  you  '11 
find  traces  of  five  animals." 

"You  are  right,"  said  Bell,  after  a  careful  examination. 

"  Then,"  said  the  doctor,  "  there  is  no  need  of  useless  bravado, 
but  rather  of  caution  ;  these  animals  are  famished  at  the  end  of  a 
severe  winter,  and  they  may  be  very  dangerous ;  and  since  there 
is  no  doubt  of  their  number  —  " 

"  Nor  of  their  intentions,"  interrupted  the  American. 

"  Do  you  suppose,"  he  asked,  "  that  they  have  discovered  our 
presence  here  1" 

"  Without  a  doubt,  unless  we  've  fallen  on  a  whole  band  of 
bears  ;  but  in  that  case,  why  do  their  prints  go  about  in  a  circle, 
instead  of  running  out  of  sight  1  See,  they  came  from  the  south- 
west and  stopped  here,  and  began  to  explore  the  country." 

"  You  are  right,"  said  the  doctor,  "  and  it 's  certain  they  came 
last  night." 

"  And  the  other  nights  too,"  answered  Altamont ;  "  only  the 
snow  has  covered  their  tracks." 

"No,"  said  the  doctor;  "it 's  more. likely  that  they  waited  for 
the  end  of  the  storm ;  they  went  to  the  bay  to  catch  some  seals, 
and  then  they  scented  us." 

"True,"  said  Altamont;  "so  it  is  easy  to  know  whether  they 
will  return  to-night." 

"How  so]"  asked  Bell, 

"By  rubbing  out  some  of  their  tracks  ;  and  if  we  find  new  ones 
to-morrow,  we  can  be  sure  that  they  are  trjdng  to  get  into  Fort 
Providence." 

"Well,"  said  the  doctor,  "we  shall  at  least  know  what  to 
expect." 

The  three  then  set  to  w^ork,  and  soon  effaced  all  the  tracks 
over  a  space  of  about  six  hundred  feet. 

"  It 's  strange,  however,"  said  Bell,  "  that  they  could  scent  us 
at  so  great  a  distance;  we  did  n't  burn  anything  greasy  which 
could  attract  them." 

"  0,"  answered  the  doctor,   "  they  have  very  fine  sight,  and 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  319 

delicate  sense  of  smell !  Besides,  they  are  very  intelligent,  per- 
haps the  most  intelligent  of  animals,  and  they  have  found  out 
something  strange  here." 

"  Perhaps,"  continued  Bell,  "  during  the  storm,  they  came  up 
as  far  as  the  plateau." 

'*  Then,"  said  the  American,  "  why  should  they  have  stopped 
there  ? " 

"  True,  there  is  no  answer  to  that,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  and 
we  ought  to  believe  that  they  are  shortening  the  circle  about 
Fort  Providence." 

"  We  shall  see,"  answered  Altamont. 

"  Now,  let  us  go  on,"  said  the  doctor ;  "  but  we  '11  keep  our  eyes_ 
open." 

They  kept  careful  watch,  through  fear  lest  some  bear  should  be 
hidden  behind  the  masses  of  ice  ;  often  they  took  the  blocks  for 
animals,  from  their  shape  and  whiteness,  but  soon  they  discovered 
their  mistake. 

They  returned  at  last  to  the  shore  beneath  the  cone,  and  from 
there  their  eyes  swept  in  vain  from  Cape  Washington  to  Johnson 
Island.  They  saw  nothing ;  everything  was  white  and  motion- 
less ;  not  a  sound  was  to  be  heard.    They  entered  the  snow-house. 

Hatteras  and  Johnson  were  informed  of  the  condition  of  affairs, 
and  they  resolved  to  keep  a  strict  watch.  Night  came ;  nothing 
occurred  to  alarm  them,  or  to  mar  its  beauty.  At  dawn  the  next 
morning,  Hatteras  and  his  companions,  fully  armed,  went  out  to 
examine  the  condition  of  the  snow  ;  they  found  the  same  tracks 
as  on  the  previous  day,  only  nearer.  Evidently  the  enemy  was 
preparing  to  lay  siege  to  Fort  Providence. 

*'  They  have  opened  their  second  parallel,"  said  the  doctor. 

''  They  have  made  a  point  in  advance,"  answered  Altamont ; 
"  see  those  footprints  coming  nearer  the  plateau ;  they  are  those 
of  some  strong  animal." 

*'  Yes,  they  are  gaining  ground  gradually,"  said  Johnson ;  "  it  is 
evident  that  they  are  going  to  attack  us." 

"  There  's  no  doubt  of  that,"  said  the  doctor  ;  "  let  us  avoid 
showing  ourselves.  We  are  not  strong  enough  to  fight  suc- 
cessfully." 


320  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

"  But  where  do  these  devilish  bears  come  from  1 "  asked  Bell. 

"From  behind  those  pieces  of  ice  to  the  east,  where  they  are 
spying  us ;  don't  let  us  get  too  near  them." 

"  And  our  hunt  1 "  asked  Altamont. 

"  Let  us  put  it  off  for  a  few  days,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  let 
us  again  rub  out  these  nearest  marks,  and  to-morrow  we  shall  see 
if  they  are  renewed.  In  this  way  we  can  see  the  manoeuvres  of 
our  enemies." 

The  doctor's  advice  was  taken,  and  they  returned  to  the  fort ; 
the  presence  of  these  terrible  beasts  forbade  any  excursion.  Strict 
watch  was  kept  over  the  neighborhood  of  Victoria  Bay.  The 
lighthouse  was  dismantled ;  it  was  of  no  real  use,  and  might  at- 
tract the  attention  of  the  animals ;  the  lantern  and  the  electric 
threads  were  carried  to  the  house  ;  then  they  took  turns  in  watch- 
ing the  upper  plateau. 

Again  they  had  to  endure  the  monotony  of  loneliness,  but  what 
else  was  to  be  done '?  They  dared  not  risk  a  contest  at  so  fearful 
odds;  no  one's  life  could  be  risked  imprudently.  Perhaps  the 
bears,  if  they  caught  sight  of  nothing,  might  be  thrown  off  the 
track ;  or,  if  they  were  met  singly,  they  might  be  attacked  suc- 
cessfully. However,  this  inaction  was  relieved  by  a  new  inter- 
est ;  they  had  to  keep  watch,  and  no  one  regretted  ^t. 

April  28th  passed  by  without  any  sign  of  the  existence  of  the 
enemy.  The  next  morning  their  curiosity  as  to  the  existence  of 
new  tracks  was  succeeded  by  astonishment.  Not  a  trace  was  to 
be  seen  ;  the  snow  was  intact. 

''Good,"  shouted  Altamont,  "the  bears  are  thrown  off  the 
track  !  They  have  no  perseverance  !  They  are  tired  of  waiting, 
and  have  gone  !     Good  by,  and  now  off  to  the  hunt !  " 

"  Eh  !  "  answered  the  doctor,  *'  who  can  say  1  For  greater 
safety,  my  friends,  I  beg  one  more  day  of  watching ;  it  is  certain 
the  enemy  did  not  approach  last  night,  at  least  from  this  side  —  " 

"  Let  us  make  a  circuit  of  the  plateau,"  said  Altamont,  "  and 
then  we  shall  make  sure." 

"  Willingly,"  said  the  doctor. 

But  with  all  their  care  in  exploration,  not  the  slightest  trace 
could  be  found. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


321 


"  Well,   shall  we   start  on  our  hunt  1 "    asked  Altamont,  im- 
patiently. 

*•  Let  us  wait  till  to-morrow,"  urged  the  doctor. 

"All  right,"  answered  Altamont,  who  had  some  reluctance, 
however,  about  conceding. 

They  returned  to  the  fort.  Each  one  had  to  watch  for  an  hour, 
as  on  the  previous 
evening.  When  Al- 
tamont's  turn  came, 
he  went  to  relieve 
Bell.  As  soon  as  he 
was  gone,  Hatteras 
called  his  compan- 
ions together.  The 
doctor  left  his  notes, 
and  Johnson  his  fur- 
naces. It  might  have 
been  supposed  that 
Hatteras  was  going 
to  discuss  the  dan- 
gers of  the  situa- 
tion ;  he  did  not 
even  think  of  them. 

"  My  friends,"  he 


said,  "  let  us  take 
advantage  of  the  ab- 
sence of  this  Ameri- 
can, to  talk  over  our 

affairs ;  some  things  don't  concern  him  at  all,  and  I  don't  care  to 
have  him  meddling  with  them." 

The  others  looked  at  one  another,  uncertain  of  his  meaning. 
"  I  want  to  speak  with  you,"  he  said,  "  about  our  future  plans." 
"Well,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  let  us  talk  now  we  are  alone." 
"  In  a  month,  or  six  weeks  at  the  latest,"  Hatteras  began,  "  we 
shall  be  able  to  make  distant  excursions.     Had  you  thought  of 
what  might  be  done  in  the  summer  ? " 
"  Had  you,  Captain  1 "  asked  Johnson. 

14*  u 


322  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"  I  ?  I  can  say  that  not  an  hour  passes  without  my  mind's 
recurring  to  my  plan.  I  suppose  no  one  of  you  has  any  thought 
of  returning  —  " 

There  was  no  immediate  answer  to  this  insinuation. 

"  As  for  me,"  continued  Hatteras,  "  if  I  have  to  go  alone,  I 
shall  go  to  the  North  Pole ;  we  are  only  three  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  from  it  at  the  outside.  No  men  have  ever  been  so  near  it, 
and  I  shall  not  let  such  a  chance  go  by  without  the  attempt, 
even  if  it  be  impossible.     What  are  your  views  in  the  matter  1 " 

"  Your  own,"  answered  the  doctor. 

"  And  yours,  Johnson  ]  " 

"  The  same  as  the  doctor's,"  answered  the  boatswain. 

"  It  is  your  turn  to  speak.  Bell,"  said  Hatteras. 

"  Captain,"  answered  the  carpenter,  "it  is  true  we  have  no 
family  awaiting  us  in  England,  but  our  country  is  our  country  : 
don't  you  think  of  going  back  ]  " 

"We  shall  go  back  easily  as  soon  as  we  shall  have  discovered 
the  Pole.  In  fact,  more  easily.  The  difficulties  will  not  increase, 
for,  on  our  way  thither,  we  leave  behind  us  the  coldest  spots  on 
the  globe.  We  have  supplies  of  all  sorts  for  a  long  time.  There 
is  nothing  to  hinder  us,  and  we  should  be  to  blame  if  we  did  not 
push  on  to  the  end." 

''Well,"  answered  Bell,  "  we  are  all  of  your  opinion,  Captain." 

"  Good  ! "  replied  Hatteras.  "  I  have  never  doubted  of  you. 
We  shall  succeed,  my  friends,  and  England  shall  have  all  the 
glory  of  our  success." 

"  But  there  is  an  American  with  us,"  said  Johnson. 

Hatteras  could  not  restrain  a  wrathful  gesture  at  this  remark. 

"  I  know  it,"  he  said  in  a  deep  voice. 

"  We  can't  leave  him  here,"  continued  the  doctor. 

"  No,  we  cannot,"  answered  Hatteras,  coldly. 

"  And  he  will  certainly  come." 

"  Yes,  he  will  come,  but  who  will  command  ? " 

"You,  Captain." 

"And  if  you  obey  me,  will  this  Yankee  refuse  to  obey  ? " 

"  I  don't  think  so,"  answered  Johnson  ;  "  but  if  he  is  unwilling 
to  obey  your  orders  —  " 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  323 

**  It  would  have  to  be  settled  between  him  and  me." 

The  three  Englishmen  looked  at  Hatteras  without  a  word.  The 
doctor  broke  the  silence. 

"  How  shall  we  travel  %  "  he  asked. 

"  By  keeping  along  the  coast  as  much  as  possible,"  answered 
Hatteras. 

"  But  if  we  find  the  sea  open,  as  is  likely  % " 

"  Well,  we  shall  cross  it." 

"  How  ]     We  have  no  boat." 

Hatteras  did  not  answer ;  he  was  evidently  embarrassed. 

"  Perhaps,"  suggested  Bell,  "  we  might  build  a  launch  out  of 
the  timbers  of  the  Porpoised 

"  Never !  "  shouted  Hatteras,  warmly. 

"  Never  % "  exclaimed  Johnson.  . 

The  doctor  shook  his  head;  he  understood  the  captain's  un- 
willingness. 

"  Never  !  "  the  latter  answered.  "  A  launch  made  o-ut  of  the 
wood  of  an  American  ship  would  be  an  American  launch  —  " 

"But,  Captain  —  "  interposed  Johnson. 

The  doctor  made  a  sign  to  the  old  boatswain  to  keep  silent. 
A  more  suitable  time  was  required  for  that  question.  The  doctor, 
although  he  understood  Hatteras's  repugnance,  did  not  sympa- 
thize with  it,  and  he  determined  to  make  his  friend  abandon  this 
hasty  decision.  Hence  he  spoke  of  something  else,  of  the  possi- 
bility of  going  along  the  coast  to  the  north,  and  that  unknown 
point,  the  North  Pole.  In  a  word,  he  avoided  all  dangerous  sub- 
jects of  conversation  up  to  the  moment  when  it  was  suddenly 
ended  by  the  entrance  of  Altamont.  He  had  nothing  new  to  re- 
port. The  day  ended  in  this  way,  and  the  night  was  quiet.  The 
bears  had  evidently  disappeared. 


324         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE    ICE    PRISON. 

The  next  day  they  determined  to  arrange  the  hunt,  in  which 
Hatteras,  Altamont,  and  the  carpenter  were  to  take  part;  no 
more  tracks  were  to  be  seen ;  the  bears  had  decidedly  given  up 
their  plan  of  attack,  either  from  fear  of  their  unknown  enemies, 
or  because  there  had  been  no  sign  of  living  beings  beneath  the 
mass  of  snow.  During  the  absence  of  the  three  hunters,  the 
doctor  was  to  push  on  to  Johnson  Island  to  examine  the  condi- 
tion of  the  ice,  and  to  make  some  hydrographic  investigations. 
The  cold  was  sharp,  but  they  supported  it  well,  having  become 
accustomed  to  it  by  this  time.  The  boatswain  was  to  remain  at 
Doctor's  House ;  in  a  word,  to  guard  the  house. 

The  three  hunters  made  their  preparations ;  each  one  took  a 
double-barrelled  rifled  gun,  with  conical  balls;  they  carried  a 
small  quantity  of  pemmican,  in  case  night  should  fall  before 
their  return ;  they  also  were  provided  with  the  snow-knife,  which 
is  so  indispensable  in  these  regions,  and  a  hatchet  which  they 
wore  in  their  belts.  Thus  armed  and  equipped  they  could  go 
far ;  and  since  they  were  both  skilled  and  bold,  they  could  count 
on  bringing  back  a  good  supply. 

At  eight  in  the  morning  they  set  out.  Duke  sprang  about 
ahead  of  them;  they  ascended  the  hill  to  the  east,  went  about 
the  lighthouse,  and  disappeared  in  the  plains  to  the  south,  which 
were  bounded  by  Mount  Bell.  The  doctor,  having  agreed  on  a 
danger-signal  with  Johnson,  descended  towards  the  shore  so  as 
to  reach  the  ice  in  Victoria  Bay. 

The  boatswain  remained  at  Fort  Providence  alone,  but  not  idle. 
He  first  set  free  the  Greenland  dogs,  which  were  playing  about 
the  Dog  Palace ;  tliey  in  their  joy  rolled  about  in  the  snow. 
Johnson  then  gave  his  attentions  to  the  cares  of  housekeeping. 
He  had  to  renew  the  fuel  and  provisions,  to  set  the  stores  in 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


325 


order,  to  mend  many  broken  utensils,  to  patch  the  coverings, 
to  work  over  the  shoes  for  the  long  excursions  of  the  summer. 
There  was  no  lack  of  things  to  do,   but  the  boatswain  worked 

with   the   ease   of  a 

sailor,  who  has  gener- 
ally a  smattering  of 
all  trades.  While 
thus  employed  he 
began  to  think  of  the 
talk  of  the  evening 
before ;  he  thought  of 
the  captain,  and  es- 
pecially of  his  obsti- 
nacy, which,  after  all, 
had  something  very  heroic  and  very  honorable  about  it,  in  his 
unwillingness  that  any  American  man  or  boat  should  reach  the 
Pole  before  him,  or  even  with  him. 

"  Still,  it  seems  to  me,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  no  easy  task  to 
cross  the  ocean  without  a  boat ;  and  if  we  have  the  open  sea  before 
us,  we  should  need  one.  The  strongest  Englishman  in  the  world 
could  n't  swim  three  hundred  miles.  Patriotism  has  its  limits. 
Well,  we  shall  see.  We  have  still  time  before  us;  Dr.  Claw- 
bonny  has  not  yet  said  his  last  word  in  the  matter ;  he  is  wise, 
and  he  may  persuade  the  captain  to  change  his  mind.  I  '11  bet 
that  in  going  towards  the  island  he  '11  glance  at  the  fragments 
of  the  Porpoise,  and  will  know  exactly  what  can  be  made  out  of 
them." 

Johnson  had  reached  this  point  in  his  reflections,  and  the  hunt- 
ers had  been  gone  an  hour,  when  a  loud  report  was  heard  two 
or  three  miles  to  windward. 

"  Good  !  "  said  the  sailor ;  "  they  have  come  across  something, 
and  without  going  very  far,  for  I  heard  them  distinctly.  After 
all,  the  air  is  so  clear." 

A  second  and  then  a  third  report  was  heard. 

"  Hulloa  ! "  continued  Johnson,  *'  they  've  got  into  a  good 
place." 

Three  other  reports,  in  quicker  succession,  were  heard. 


326  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"Six  shots!"  said  Johnson;  *'now  they've  fired  off  every- 
thing.    It  was  a  hot  time  !     Is  it  possible  — " 

At  the  thought,  Johnson  grew  pale ;  he  quickly  left  the  snow- 
house,  and  in  a  few  moments  he  had  run  up  to  the  top  of  the 
cone.     He  saw  a  sight  that  made  him  tremble. 

"  The  bears  ! "  he  shouted. 

The  three  hunters,  followed  by  Duke,  were  running  rapidly, 
followed  by  five  enormous  animals;  their  six  bullets  had  not 
disabled  them ;  the  bears  were  gaining  on  them ;  Hatteras,  be- 
hind the  others,  could  only  keep  his  distance  from  the  animals 
by  throwing  away  his  cap,  hatchet,  and  even  his  gun.  The 
bears  stopped,  according  to  their  habit,  to  sniff"  at  the  diff'erent 
objects,  and  lost  a  little  on  this  ground  on  which  they  would 
have  outstripped  the  swiftest  horse.  It  was  thus  that  Hatteras, 
Altamont,  and  Bell,  all  out  of  breath,  came  up  to  Johnson,  and 
fhey  all  slid  down  the  slope  to  the  snow-house.  The  five  bears 
were  close  behind,  and  the  captain  was  obliged  to  ward  off"  the 
blow  of  a  paw  with  his  knife.  In  a  moment  Hatteras  and  his 
companions  were  locked  in  the  house.  The  animals  stopped  on 
the  upper  plateau  of  the  truncated  cone. 

"  Well,"  said  Hatteras,  "  we  can  now  defend  ourselves  better, 
five  to  five  1 " 

"  Four  to  five  ! "  shouted  Johnson  in  a  terrified  voice. 

"  What  1 "  asked  Hatteras. 

"The  doctor!"  answered  Johnson,  pointing  to  the  empty 
room. 

"Welir' 

"  He  is  on  the  shore  of  the  island  !  " 

"  Poor  man  !  "  cried  Bell. 

*'  We  can't  abandon  him  in  this  way,"  said  Altamont. 

*'  Let  us  run  ! "  said  Hatteras. 

He  opened  the  door  quickly,  but  he  had  hardly  time  to  shut 
it ;  a  bear  nearly  crushed  his  skull  with  his  claw. 

"  They  are  there,"  he  cried. 

"Alir'  asked  Bell. 

**  All !  "  answered  Hatteras. 

Altamont  hastened  to  the  windows,  heaping  up  the  bays  with 


Hatteras  could  only  keep  his  distance  from  the  animals  by  throwing  away  his 
cap,  hatchet,  and  even  his  gun."  —  Page  326. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


327 


pieces  of  ice  torn  from  the  walls  of  the  house.  His  companions 
did  the  same  without  speaking.  Duke's  dull  snarls  alone  broke 
the  silence. 

But  it  must  be  said  these  men  had  only  a  single  thought; 
they  forgot  their  own  danger,  and  only  considered  the  doctor. 
Poor  Clawbonny  !  so  kind,  so  devoted !  the  soul  of  the  little 
colony !  for  the  first  time  he  was  missing ;  extreme  peril,  a 
terrible  death,  awaited  him ;  for  when  his  excursion  was  over  he 
would  return  quietly  to  Fort  Providence,  and  would  find  these 
ferocious  animals.     And  there  was  no  way  of  warning  him. 

"  If  I  'm  not  mis- 
taken, he  will  be  on 
his  guard ;  your  shots 
must  have  warned 
him,  and  he  must 
know  something  has 
happened." 

"But  if  he  were 
far  off,"  answered  Al- 
tamont,  "  and  did  not 
understand  %  There 
are  eight  chances  out  of  ten  that  he  '11  come  back  without  suspi- 
cion of  danger !  The  bears  are  hiding  behind  the  scarp  of  the 
fort,  and  he  can't  see  them." 

'•We  shall  have  to  get  rid  of  these  dangerous  beasts  before 
his  return,"  answered  Hatteras. 

"  But  how  1 "  asked  Bell. 

To  answer  this  question  was  not  easy.  A  sortie  seemed  im- 
possible. They  took  the  precaution  to  barricade  the  entrance, 
but  the  bears  could  easily  have  overcome  the  obstacles  if  the 
idea  had  occurred  to  them ;  they  knew  the  number  and  strength 
of  their  adversaries,  and  they  could  easily  have  reached  them. 
The  prisoners  were  posted  in  each  one  of  the  chambers  of  Doc- 
tor's House  to  watch  for  every  attempt  at  entrance ;  when  they 
listened,  they  heard  the  bears  coming  and  going,  growling,  and 
tearing  at  the  walls  with  their  huge  paws.  But  some  action  was 
necessary ;   time  was  pressing.     Altaraont  resolved   to   make  a 


328 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT T ERAS. 


loop-hole  to  shoot  the  assailants ;  in  a  few  minutes  he  had  made 
a  little  hole  in  the  ice-wall ;  he  pushed  his  gun  through  it ;  but 
it  had  scarcely  reached  the  other  side  before  it  was  torn  from 
his  hands  with  irresistible  force  before  he  could  fire. 


"  The  devil !  "  he  cried,  "  we  are  too  weak." 

And  he  hastened  to  close  the  loop-hole.  Thus  matters  went 
for  an  hour,  without  any  end  appearing  probable.  The  chances 
of  a  sortie  were  discussed ;  they  seemed  slight,  for  the  bears 
could  not  be  fought  singly.  Nevertheless,  Hatteras  and  his 
companions,  being  anxious  to  finish  it,  and,  it  must  be  said, 
very  much  confused  at  being  thus  imprisoned  by  the  beasts, 
were  about  to  try  a  direct  attack,  when  the  captain  thought  of 
a  new  means  of  defence. 

He  took  the  poker  and  plunged  it  into  the  stove ;  then  he 
made  an  opening  in  the  wall,  but  so  as  to  keep  a  thin  coating  of 
ice  outside.  His  companions  watched  him.  When  the  poker 
was  white  hot,  Hatteras  said,  — 

"  This  bar  w^ill  drive  away  the  bears,  for  they  won't  be  able  to 
seize  it,  and  through  the  loop-hole  we  will  be  able  to  fire  at  them, 
without  their  taking  our  guns  away  from  ns." 

"  A  good  idea  ! "  cried  Bell,  going  towards  Altamont. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


329 


Then  Hatteras,  withdrawing  the  poker  from  the  stove,  pushed 
it  through  the  wall.  The  snow,  steaming  at  its  touch,  hissed 
sharply.  Two  bears  ran  to  seize  the  bar,  but  they  roared  fear- 
fully when  four  shots  were  fired  at  once. 

"Hit  ! "  shouted  the  American. 

"  Hit !  "  repeated  Bell. 

"Let  us  try  again,"  said  Hatteras,  closing  the  opening  for  a 
moment. 

The  poker  Avas  put  again  into  the  fire ;  in  a  few  minutes  it  was 
red  hot. 

Altamont  and  Bell  returned  to  their  place  after  loading  their 
guns;  Hatteras  again  pushed  the  poker  through  the  loop-hole. 
But  this  time  an  impenetrable  substance  stopped  it. 


"  Curse  it !  "  cried  the  American. 

"  What 's  the  matter  1 "  asked  Johnson. 

"  The  matter !  These  cursed  animals  are  heaping  up  the  ice 
and  snow  so  as  to  bury  us  alive!" 

"Impossible ! " 

"  See,  the  poker  can't  go  through  !     Really,  this  is  absurd  !  " 

It  was  more  than  absurd,  it  was  alarming.  Matters  looked 
worse.     The  bears,  which  are  very  intelligent  beasts,  employed 


330  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  H ATT  ERAS. 

this  method  of  suffocating  their  prey.  They  heaped  the  ice  in 
such  a  way  as  to  render  flight  impossible. 

"This  is  hard,"  said  Johnson,  with  a  very  mortified  air. 
"  It 's  well  enough  to  have  men  treat  you  in  this  way,  but 
bears  ! " 

After  this  reflection  two  hours  passed  by  without  any  material 
change  in  their  situation  ;  a  sortie  became  impossible ;  the  thick- 
ened walls  deadened  all  sound  without.  Altamont  walked  to  and 
fro  like  a  bold  man  in  face  of  a  danger  greater  than  his  courage. 
Hatteras  thought  anxiously  of  the  doctor,  and  of  the  great  danger 
awaiting  him  when  he  should  return. 

"  Ah,"  shouted  Johnson,  "  if  Dr.  Clawbonny  were  only  here  !  " 


*'  Well,  what  would  he  do  1 "  asked  Altamont 

"0,  he  would  be  able  to  help  us  ! " 

"Howl"  asked  the  American,  with  some  asperity. 

"  If  I  knew,"  answered  Johnson,  "  I  should  n't  want  him  here. 
Still,  I  can  think  of  a  piece  of  advice  he  would  give  us  at  this 
moment." 

"What  is  that  1" 

"To  take  some  food.  It  can't  hurt  us.  W^hat  do  you  think, 
Mr.  Altamont]" 


The  bears  heap'^d  the  ice  in  such  a  way  as  to  render  flight  iinpossible.' 
Page  330. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


331 


"  Let  us  eat  if  you  care  to,"  was  the  answer ;  "  although  our 
condition  is  stupid,  not  to  say  disgraceful." 

"I  '11  bet,"  said  Johnson,  "that  we  '11  find  some  way  of  driving 
them  off  after  dinner." 

They  made  no  reply,  but  sat  down  to  dinner.  Johnson,  as  a 
pupil  of  the  doctor,  tried  to  be  a  philosopher  in  the  face  of  dan- 
ger, but  he  succeeded  ill ;  his  jokes  stuck  in  his  throat.  Besides, 
they  began  to  feel  uncomfortable ;  the  air  was  growing  bad  in 
this  hermetically  sealed  prison ;  the  stove-pipe  drew  insufficiently, 
and  it  was  easy  to  see  that  in  a  short  time  the  fire  would  go 
out ;  the  oxygen,  consumed  by  their  lungs  and  the  fire,  w^ould 
be  replaced  by  carbonic  acid,  which  would  be  fatal  to  them,  as 
they  all  knew.  Hatterts  was  the  first  to  detect  this  new  dan- 
ger;   he  was  unwilling  to  hide  it  from  the  others. 

"So,  at  any  risk  we  must  get 
out  ! "   said  Altamont. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Hatteras ; 
"but  let  us  wait  till  night;  we 
will  make  a  hole  in  the  snow  that 
we  may  get  fresh  air;  then  one 
shall  take  his  place  here  and  fire 
at  the  bears." 

"  It 's  the  only  thing  we  can 
do,"  said  the  American. 

Having  agreed  on  this,  they 
waited  for  the  time  of  action ;  and 

during  the  following  hours,  Alta-     w  ^  ..^^^  -i=.  ^  ^ 

niont  did  not  spare  imprecations  ^-^it^^-^       /^ 

against  a  state  of  things  in  which,  as  he  put  it,  "there  being 
men  and  bears  concerned,  the  men  were  getting  the  worst  of  it." 


332  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTEPxAS. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE   MINE. 

Night  came,  and  the  lamp  began  to  burn  dimly  in  the  close 
air  of  the  room.  At  eight  o'clock  they  made  their  final  prepara- 
tions. The  guns  were  carefully  loaded,  and  an  opening  was  begun 
in  the  roof  of  the  snow-house.  Bell  worked  cleverly  at  this  for  a 
few  minutes,  when  Johnson,  who  had  left  the  bedroom,  where  he 
was  on  guard,  for  a  few  minutes,  returned  rapidly  to  his  compan- 
ions.    He  seemed  disturbed. 

"  What  is  the  matter  % "  the  captain  asked. 

"The  matter  1  nothing!"  answered  the  old  sailor,  hesitatingly, 
"yet  —  " 

"  What  is  it  1 "  asked  Altamont. 

"  Hush  !     Don't  you  hear  a  strange  sound  1 " 

"  On  which  side  1 " 

"  There  !  There  is  something  happening  to  the  wall  of  that 
room." 

Bell  stopped  his  work  ;  each  one  listened.  A  distant  noise 
could  be  heard,  apparently  in  the  side  wall ;  some  one  was  evi- 
dently making  a  passage-way  through  the  ice. 

"  It 's  a  tearing  sound  !  "  said  Johnson. 

"  Without  a  doubt,"  answered  Altamont. 

"  The  bears  1 "  asked  Bell. 

"  Yes,  the  bears,"  said  Altamont. 

"  They  have  changed  their  plan,"  continued  the  sailor  ;  "  they 
've  given  up  trying  to  suffocate  as." 

"  Or  else  they  think  they  've  done  it,"  added  the  American,  who 
was  getting  very  angry. 

''We  shall  be  attacked,"  said  Bell. 

"Well,"  remarked  Hatteras,  "we  shall  fight  against  them." 

"  Confound  it !  "  shouted  Altamont ;  "  I  prefer  that  decidedl}^ ! 
I  've  had  enough  working  in  the  dark  !  Now  we  shall  see  one 
another  and  fight  !  " 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  333 

"  Yes,"  answered  Johnson ;  "  but  with  our  guns  it  is  impossible 
in  so  small  a  space." 

"  Well,  with  a  hatchet  or  a  knife  ! " 

The  noise  increased ;  the  scratching  of  claws  could  be  heard ; 
the  bears  had  attacked  the  wall  at  the  angle  where  it  joined  the 
snow  fastened  to  the  rock." 

"Evidently,"  said  Johnson,  "the  animal  is  within  six  feet  of 
us." 

"You  are  right,  Johnson,"  answered  the  American,  "but  we 
have  time  to  prepare  ourselves  to  receive  it  !  " 

The  American  took  the  axe  in  one  hand,  his  knife  in  the  other ; 
resting  on  his  right  foot,  his  body  thrown  back,  he  stood  ready  to 
attack.  Hatteras  and  Bell  did  the  same.  Johnson  prepared  his 
gun  in  case  fire-arms  should  be  necessary.  The  noise  grew  louder 
and  louder ;  the  ice  kept  cracking  beneath  the  repeated  blows. 
At  last  only  a  thin  crust  separated  the  adversaries;  suddenly 
this  crust  tore  asunder  like  paper  through  which  a  clown  leaps, 
and  an  enormous  black  body  appeared  in  the  gloom  of  the  room. 
Altamont  raised  his  hand  to  strike  it. 

"  Stop  !  for  heaven's  sake,  stop  !  "  said  a  well-known  voice. 

"  The  doctor,  the  doctor  ! "  shouted  Johnson. 

It  was  indeed  the  doctor,  who,  carried  by  the  impetus,  rolled 
into  the  room. 

"  Good  evening,  my  friends,"  he  said,  springing  to  his  feet. 

His  companions  remained  stupefied ;  but  joy  succeeded  their 
stupefaction ;  each  one  wished  to  embrace  the  worthy  man  ;  Hat- 
teras, who  was  much  moved,  clasped  him  for  a  long  time  to  his 
breast.     The  doctor  answered  by  a  warm  clasp  of  the  hand. 

"  What !  you,  Dr.  Clawbonny  !  "  said  the  boatswain. 

"Why,  Johnson,  I  was  much  more  anxious  about  your  fate 
than  you  about  mine." 

"  But  how  did  you  know  that  we  were  attacked  by  bears  ? " 
asked  Altamont;  "our  greatest  fear  was  to  see  you  returning 
quietly  to  Fort  Providence  without  thought  of  danger." 

"  0,  I  saw  everything !  "  answered  the  doctor ;  "  your  shots 
warned  me ;  I  happened  to  be  near  the  fragments  of  the  Porpoise; 
I  climbed  up  a  hummock ;  I  saw  five  bears  chasing  you  ;  ah,  I 


334  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

feared  the  worst  for  you  !  But  the  way  you  sHd  down  the  hill, 
and  the  hesitation  of  the  animals,  reassured  me  for  a  time ;  I 
knew  you  'd  had  time  to  lock  yourselves  in.  Then  I  approached 
gradually,  climbing  and  creeping  between  cakes  of  ice ;  I  arrived 
near  the  Jfort,  and  I  saw  the  huge  beasts  working  like  beavers ; 
they  were  tossing  the  snow  about,  heaping  up  the  ice  so  as  to 
bury  you  alive.  Fortunately,  they  did  not  think  of  hurling  the 
blocks  down  from  the  top  of  the  cone,  for  you  would  have  been 
crushed  without  mercy." 

"  But,"  said  Bell,  "  you  were  not  safe.  Doctor ;  could  n't  they 
leave  their  place  and  attack  you  ? " 

"  They  did  n't  think  of  it ;  the  Greenland  dogs  which  Johnson 
let  loose  would  sniff  around  at  a  little  distance,  but  they  did  n't 
think  of  attacking  them ;  no,  they  were  sure  of  better  game." 

"  Thanks  for  the  compliment,"  said  Altamont,  smiling. 

"  0,  you  need  n't  be  vain  of  it  !  When  I  saw  the  tactics  of  the 
bears,  I  resolved  to  join  you ;  to  be  prudent,  I  waited  till  night ; 
so  at  twilight  I  slipped  noiselessly  towards  the  slope,  on  the  side 
of  the  magazine ;  I  had  my  own  idea  in  choosing  this  point ;  I 
wanted  to  make  a  gallery ;  so  I  set  to  work ;  I  began  with  my 
snow-knife,  and  a  capital  tool  it  is  !  For  three  hours  I  dug  and 
dug,  and  here  I  am,  hungry  and  tired,  but  here  at  last  —  " 

"  To  share  our  fate  ] "  asked  Altamont. 

"  To  save  all  of  us ;  but  give  me  a  piece  of  biscuit  and  some 
meat ;  I  'm  half  starved." 

Soon  the  doctor  was  burying  his  white  teeth  in  a  large  slice 
of  salt  beef.  Although  he  was  eating,  he  appeared  willing  to 
answer  the  questions  they  put  to  him. 

"To  save  us r'  Bell  began. 

"  Certainly,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  and  to  rid  us  of  the  mali- 
cious pests  who  will  end  by  finding  our  stores  and  devouring 
them." 

"  We  must  stay  here,"  said  Hatteras. 

" Certainly,"  answered  the  doctor,  "and  yet  rid  ourselves  of 
these  animals." 

"  There  is  then  a  means  ? "  asked  Bell. 

"A  sure  means,"  answered  the  doctor. 


liV/.'liWTFP 


An  enormous  black  body  appeared  in  the  gloom  of  the  room.     Altaniont  raised 
his  hand  to  strike  it."  —  Page  333. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


"  I  said  so,"  cried  Johnson,  rubbing  his  hands ;  "  with  Dr.  Claw- 
bonny,  we  need  not  despair ;  he  always  has  some  invention  handy." 

"  Not  always  handy ;  but  after  thinking  for  a  while  —  " 

"  Doctor,"  interrupted  Altamont,  "  can't  the  bears  get  through 
the  passage-way  you  cut  1 " 

"  No,  I  took  the  precaution  of  closing  it  behind  me ;  and  now 
we  can  go  from  here  to  the  powder-magazine  without  their  sus- 
pecting it." 

"  Good  !  Will  you  tell  us  what  means  you  intend  to  employ  to 
rid  us  of  these  unpleasant  visitors  % " 

"  Something  very  simple,  and  which  is  already  half  done." 

''How  so  r' 

"  You  11  see.     But  I  forgot  I  did  n't  come  alone." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ]  " 
asked  Johnson. 

"  I  have  a  companion  to  in- 
troduce to  you." 

And  with  these  words  he 
pulled  in  from  the  gallery  the 
newly  killed  body  of  a  fox. 

"A  fox!"  cried  Bell. 

"  My  morning's  game,"  an- 
swered the  doctor,  modestly, 
"  and  you  '11  see  no  fox  was  ever 
wanted  more  than  this  one." 

"  But  what  is  your  plan,  after 
ain  "  asked  Altamont. 

"I  intend  to  blow  the  bears  up  with  a  hundred  pounds  of 
powder." 

They  all  gazed  at  the  doctor  with  amazement. 

"  But  the  powder  % "  they  asked. 

"  It  is  in  the  magazine." 

"  And  the  magazine  1, " 

"  This  passage-way  leads  to  it.  I  had  my  own  reason  for  dig- 
ging this  passage  sixty  feet  long ;  I  might  have  attacked  the 
parapet  nearer  to  the  house,  but  I  had  my  own  idea." 

"  Well,  where  are  you  going  to  put  the  mine  ] "  asked  the 
American. 


336 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


''  On  the  slope,  as  far  as  possible  from  the  house,  the  magazine, 
and  the  stores." 

"But  how  shall  you  get  all  the  bears  together  1" 

"  I  '11  take  charge  of  that,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  but  we  've 
talked  enough,  now  to  work ;  we  have  a  hundred  feet  to  dig  out 
to-night ;  it 's  tiresome  work,  but  we  five  can  do  it  in  relays. 
Bell  shall  begin,  and  meanwhile  we  can  take  some  rest." 

"  Really,"  said  Johnson,  "  the  more  I  think  of  it,  the  more  I 
admire  Dr.  Clawbonny's  plan." 

''  It 's  sure,"  answered  the  doctor. 

"  0,  from  the  moment  you  opened  your  mouth  they  are  dead 
bears,  and  I  already  feel  their  fur  about  my  shoulders ! " 

"  To  work,  then  !  " 


The  doctor  entered  the  dark  gallery,  followed  by  Bell ;  where 
the  doctor  had  gone  through,  his  companions  were  sure  to  find  no 
difficulty ;  two  reached  the  magazine  and  entered  among  the  bar- 
rels, which  were  all  arranged  in  good  order.  The  doctor  gave 
Bell  the  necessary  instructions ;  the  carpenter  began  work  on  the 
wall  towards  the  slope,  and  his  companion  returned  to  the  house. 

Bell  worked  for  an  hour,  and  dug  a  passage  about  ten  feet  long, 
through  which  one  might  crawl.     Then  Altamont  took  his  place. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  337 

and  did  about  as  much ;  the  snow  which  was  taken  from  the  gal- 
lery was  carried  into  the  kitchen,  where  the  doctor  melted  it  at 
the  fire,  that  it  might  take  up  less  room.  The  captain  followed 
the  American ;  then  came  Johnson.  -In  ten  hours,  that  is  to  say, 
at  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  gallery  was  finished. 
At  daybreak  the  doctor  peeped  at  the  bears  through  a  loop-hole 
in  the  wall  of  the  powder-magazine. 

The  patient  animals  had  not  left  their  place ;  there  they  were, 
coming  and  going,  growling,  but  in  general  patrolling  patiently ; 
they  kept  going  around  the  house,  which  was  gradually  disap- 
pearing beneath  the  snow.  But  at  length  they  seemed  to  lose 
patience,  for  the  doctor  saw  them  begin  to  tear  away  the  ice  and 
snow  they  had  heaped  up. 

"  Good ! "  he  said  to  the  captain,  who  was  standing  near 
him. 

*'  What  are  they  doing  1 "  he  asked. 

*'  They  seem  to  be  trying  to  destroy  what  they  have  done  and 
to  get  to  us  !  But  they  '11  be  destroyed  first !  At  any  rate,  there 
is  no  time  to  lose." 

The  doctor  made  his  way  to  the  place  where  the  mine  was  to 
be  laid ;  then  he  enlarged  the  chamber  all  the  height  and  breadth 
of  the  slope ;  a  layer  of  ice,  only  a  foot  thick  at  the  outside, 
remained ;  it  had  to  be  supported  lest  it  should  fall  in.  A  stake 
resting  on  the  granite  soil  served  as  a  post ;  the  fox's  body  was 
fastened  to  the  top,  and  a  long  knotted  cord  ran  the  whole  length 
of  the  gallery  to  the  magazine.  The  doctor's  companions  followed 
his  orders  without  clearly  understanding  his  intention. 

"  This  is  the  bait,"  he  said,  pointing  to  the  fox. 

At  the  foot  of  the  post  he  placed  a  cask  holding  about  a  hun- 
dred pounds  of  powder. 

"  And  here  is  the  charge,"  he  added. 

"But,"  asked  Hatteras,  "sha'n't  we  blow  ourselves  up  at  the 
same  time]" 

"  No,  we  are  far  enough  off  from  the  explosion ;  besides,  our 
house  is  solid ;  and  if  it  is  hurt  a  little  we  can  easily  repair  it." 

"  Well,"  continued  Altamont ;  "  but  how  are  you  going  to  set 
it  offr' 

15  V 


338 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


"  This  way.  By  pulling  this  cord  we  pull  over  the  post  which 
holds  up  the  ice  above  the  powder ;  the  fox's  body  will  suddenly 
be  seen  on  the  slope,  and  you  must  confess  that  the  starving  ani- 
mals will  rush  upon  this  unexpected  prey." 

''Certainly." 

"  Well,  at  that  moment  I  shall  explode  the  mine,  and  blow  up 
guest  and  dinner." 

||i||!l|||||^S^ 


"  Well,  well !  "  exclaimed  Johnson,  who  was  listening  eagerly. 

Hatteras  had  perfect  confidence  in  his  friend,  and  asked  no 
question.  He  waited.  But  Altamont  wanted  it  made  perfectly 
clear. 

"  Doctor,"  he  began,  "  how  can  you  calculate  the  length  of  the 
fuse  so  exactly  that  the  explosion  will  take  place  at  the  right 
moment  % " 

"  It 's  very  simple,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  I  don't  make  any 
calculation." 

"  But  you  have  a  fuse  a  hundred  feet  long  % " 

"  No." 

"  Shall  you  set  a  train  of  powder  simply  1 " 

"  No  !  that  might  fail." 

"  Will  some  one  have  to  volunteer  and  light  the  powder  1 " 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  339 

"  If  you  want  any  one,"  said  Johnson,  eagerly,  "  I  'm  your 
man." 

"  It 's  not  necessary,  my  friend,"  answered  the  doctor,  grasping 
the  boatswain's  hand;  "  our  five  lives  are  precious,  and  they  will  be 
spared,  thank  God  !  ". 

"  Then,"  said  the  American,  "  I  can't  guess." 

*'  Well,"  answered  the  doctor,  smiling,  "  if  we  could  n't  get  out 
of  this  little  affair,  what  would  be  the  use  of  physics  T' 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Johnson,  brightening  up,  "  physics  ! " 

"  Yes !  Have  n't  we  here  an  electric  pile  and  wires  long 
enough,  —  those,  you  know,  which  connected  with  the  light- 
house T' 

"WelU" 

"  Well,  we  shall  explode  the  powder  when  we  please,  instantly, 
and  without  danger." 

"  Hurrah  ! "  shouted  Johnson. 

"  Hurrah  !  "  repeated  his  companions,  not  caring  whether  the 
enemy  heard  them  or  not.  Soon  the  electric  wires  were  run 
through  the  gallery  from  the  house  to  the  chamber  of  the  mine. 
One  of  the  extremities  remained  at  the  pile,  the  other  was 
plunged  into  the  centre  of  the  cask,  the  two  ends  being  placed 
at  but  a  little  distance  from  one  another.  At  nine  of  the  morn- 
ing all  was  finished,  and  it  was  time ;  the  bears  were  tearing  the 
snow  away  furiously.  The  doctor  thought  the  proper  time  had 
come.  Johnson  was  sent  to  the  magazine  and  charged  with  pull- 
ing the  cord  fastened  to  the  post.     He  took  his  place. 

"  Now,"  said  the  doctor  to  his  companions,  "  load  your  guns  in 
case  they  should  not  be  all  killed  at  once,  and  take  your  place 
near  Johnson ;  as  soon  as  you  hear  the  explosion,  run  out." 

"  All  right !  "  said  the  American. 

"  And  now  we  have  done  all  that  men  can  do !  We  have 
helped  ourselves ;    may  God  help  us  ! " 

Hatteras,  Altamont,  and  Bell  went  to  the  magazine.  The  doc- 
tor remained  alone  at  the  pile.  Soon  he  heard  Johnson's  voice 
crying,  — 

"Ready]" 

"  All  right !  "  he  answered. 


Johnson  gave  a  strong  pull  at  the  rope ;  it  pulled  over  the 
stake ;  then  he  ran  to  the  loop-hole  and  looked  out.  The  surface 
of  the  slope  had  sunk  in.  The  fox's  body  was  visible  upon  the 
shattered  ice.  The  bears,  at  first  surprised,  crowded  about  this 
new  prey. 


^.— ^^-^r-S^- 


"  Fire  !  "  shouted  Johnson. 

The  doctor  at  once  established  the  electric  current  between  the 
threads ;  a  loud  explosion  followed ;  the  house  shook  as  if  in  an 
earthquake;  the  walls  fell  in.  Hatteras,  Altaniont,  and  Bell 
hastened  out  of  the  magazine,  ready  to  fire.  But  their  guns  were 
not  needed  ;  four  of  the  five  bears  fell  about  them  in  fragments, 
while  the  fifth,  badly  burned,  ran  away  as  fast  as  he  could. 

"  Hurrah  !  hurrah  !  hurrah  !  "  shouted  the  doctor's  companions, 
while  they  crowded  about  him  and  embraced  him. 


A  loud  explosion  followed."  —  Page  340. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


341 


CHAPTER    XIV 


THE   POLAR   SPRING. 


The  prisoners  were  set  free ;  they  expressed  their  joy  by  the 
warmth  of  their  thanks  to  the  doctor.  Johnson  regretted  some- 
what the  skins,  which  were  burned  and  useless ;  but  his  regret  did 
not  sour  his  temper.  They  spent  the  day  in  repairing  the  house, 
which  was  somewhat  injured  by  the  explosion.  They  took  away 
the  blocks  heaped  up  by  the  animals,  and  the  walls  were  made 
secure.  They  worked  briskl}'',  encouraged  by  the  cheery  sougs 
of  the  boatswain. 

The  next  day  the  weather  was  much  milder ;  the  wind  changed 
suddenly,  and  the  thermometer  rose  to  +15°.  So  great  a  dif- 
ference was  soon  felt  by  both  man  and  nature.  The  southerly 
wind  brought  with  it  the  first  signs  of  the  polar  spring.     This 


comparative  warmth  lasted  for  many  days ;    the  thermometer, 
slieltered  from  the  wind,  even  rose  as  high  as  +31°,  and  there 


342  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

were  signs  of  a  thaw.  The  ice  began  to  crack ;  a  few  spirts  of 
salt-water  arose  here  and  there,  like  jets  in  an  English  park ;  a 
few  days  later  it  rained  hard. 

A  dense  vapor  arose  from  the  snow ;  this  was  a  good  sign,  and 
the  melting  of  the  immense  masses  appeared  to  be  near  at  hand. 
The  pale  disk  of  the  sun  grew  brighter  and  drew  longer  spirals 
above  the  horizon  ;  the  night  lasted  scarcely  three  hours.  Another 
similar  symptom  was  the  reappearance  of  some  ptarmigans,  arctic 
geese,  plover,  and  flocks  of  quail ;  the  air  w^as  soon  filled  with  the 
deafening  cries  which  they  remembered  from  the  previous  sum- 
mer. A  few  hares,  which  they  were  able  to  shoot,  appeared  on 
the  shores  of  the  bay,  as  well  as  the  arctic  mice,  the  burrows  of 
which  were  like  a  honeycomb.  The  doctor  called  the  attention 
of  his  friends  to  the  fact  that  these  animals  began  to  lose  their 


white  winter  plumage,  or  hair,  to  put  on  their  summer  dress  ;  they 
were  evidently  getting  ready  for  summer,  while  their  sustenance 
appeared  in  the  form  of  moss,  poppy,  saxifrage,  and  thin  grass. 
A  new^  life  was  peering  through  the  melting  snows.  But  with 
the  harmless  animals  returned  the  famished  foes ;  foxes  and  wolves 
arrived  in  search  of  their  prey  ;  mournful  howling  sounded  during 
the  brief  darkness  of  the  nights. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  343 

The  wolf  of  these  countries  is  near  of  kin  to  the  dog ;  like  him, 
it  barks,  and  often  in  such  a  way  as  to  deceive  the  sharpest  ears, 
those  of  the  dogs  themselves,  for  instance ;  it  is  even  said  that 
they  employ  this  device  to  attract  dogs,  and  then  eat  them. 
This  has  been  observed  on  the  shores  of  Hudson's  Bay,  and  the 
doctor  could  confirm  it  at  New  America ;  Johnson  took  care  not 
to  let  loose  the  dogs 'of  the  sledge,  who  might  have  been  destroyed 
in  that  way.  As  for  Duke,  he  had  seen  too  many  of  them,  and 
he  was  too  wise  to  be  caught  in  any  such  way. 

During  a  fortnight  they  hunted  a  great  deal ;  fresh  food  was 
abundant ;  they  shot  partridges,  ptarmigans,  and  snow-birds, 
which  were  delicious  eating.  The  hunters  did  not  go  far  from 
Fort  Providence.  In  fact,  small  game  could  almost  be  killed 
with  a  stick ;  and  it  gave  much  animation  to  the  silent  shores  of 
Victoria  Bay, — an  unaccustomed  sight  which  delighted  their 
eyes. 

The  fortnight  succeeding  the  great  defeat  of  the  bears  was 
taken  up  with  different  occupations.  The  thaw  advanced  steadily; 
the  thermometer  rose  to  32°,  and  torrents  began  to  roar  in 
the  ravines,  and  thousands  of  cataracts  fell  down  the  declivities. 
The  doctor  cleared  an  acre  of  ground  and  sowed  in  it  cresses,  sor- 
rel, and  cochlearia,  which  are  excellent  remedies  for  the  scurvy ; 
the  little  greenish  leaves  were  peeping  above  the  ground  when, 
with  incredible  rapidity,  the  cold  again  seized  everything. 

In  a  single  night,  with  a  violent  north-wind,  the  thermometer 
fell  forty  degrees,  to  — 8°.  Everything  was  frozen ;  birds,  quad- 
rupeds, and  seals  disappeared  as  if  by  magic ;  the  holes  for  the 
seals  were  closed,  the  crevasses  disappeared,  the  ice  became  as  hard 
as  granite,  and  the  waterfalls  hung  like  long  crystal  pendants. 

It  was  a  total  change  to  the  eye ;  it  took  place  in  the  night  of 
May  11-12.  And  when  Bell  the  next  morning  put  his  nose  out 
of  doors  into  this  sharp  frost,  he  nearly  left  it  there. 

"  0,  this  polar  climate  ! "  cried  the  doctor,  a  little  disappointed; 
"  that  's  the  way  it  goes !  Well,  I  shall  have  to  begin  sowing 
again." 

Hatteras  took  things  less  philosophically,  so  eager  was  he  to 
renew  his  explorations.     But  be  had  to  resign  himself. 


344 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


"  Will  this  cold  weather  last  long  1 "  asked  Johnson. 

"  No,  my  friend,  no,"  answered  Clawbonny ;  "  it 's  the  last 
touch  of  winter  we  shall  have  !  You  know  it 's  at  home  here,  and 
we  can't  drive  it  away  against  its  will." 

"  It  defends  itself  well,"  said  Bell,  rubbing  his  face. 


**Yes,  but  I  ought  to  have  expected  it,"  said  the  doctor;  "  and 
I  should  not  have  thrown  the  seed  away  so  stupidly,  especially 
since  I  might  have  started  them  near  the  kitchen  stove." 

''  What ! "  asked  Altamont,  "  could  you  have  foreseen  this 
change  of  weather  r' 

"  Certainly,  and  without  resorting  to  magic.  I  ought  to  have 
put  the  seed  under  the  protection  of  Saints  Mamert,  Panera,  and 
Servais,  whose  days  are  the  11th,  12th,  and  13th  of  this  month." 

"  Well,  Doctor,"  said  Altamont,  "  will  you  tell  me  what  influ- 
ence these  three  saints  have  on  the  weather?" 

"  A  very  great  influence,  to  believe  gardeners,  who  call  them 
the  three  saints  of  ice." 

"  And  why  so,  pray  1 " 

"  Because  generally  there  is  a  periodic  frost  in  the  month  of 
May,  and  the  greatest  fall  of  temperature  takes  place  from  the 
11th  to  the  13th  of  this  month.     It  is  a  fact,  that  is  all." 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  345 

*'  It  is  curious,  but  what  is  the  explanation  1"  asked  the  American. 

"  There  are  two  :  either  by  the  interposition  of  a  gi-eater  num- 
ber of  asteroids  between  the  earth  and  the  sun  at  this  season,  or 
simply  by  the  melting  of  the  snow,  which  thereby  absorbs  a  great 
quantity  of  heat.  Both  explanations  are  plausible ;  must  they 
be  received  1  I  don't  know ;  but  if  1  'm  uncertain  of  the  truth 
of  the  explanation,  I  ought  not  to  have  been  of  the  fact,  and  so 
lose  my  crop." 

The  doctor  was  right ;  for  one  reason  or  another  the  cold  was 
very  intense  during  the  rest  of  the  month  of  May ;  their  hunting 
was  interrupted,  not  so  much  by  the  severity  of  the  weather  as 
by  the  absence  of  game ;  fortunately,  the  supply  of  fresh  meat 
was  not  yet  quite  exhausted.  They  found  themselves  accordingly 
condemned  to  new  inactivity;  for  a  fortnight,  from  the  11th  to 
the  25th  of  May,  only  one  incident  broke  the  monotony  of  their 
lives ;  a  serious  illness,  diphtheria,  suddenly  seized  the  carpenter ; 
from  the  swollen  tonsils  and  the  false  membrane  in  the  throat, 
the  doctor  could  not  be  ignorant  of  the  natilre  of  the  disease ; 
but  he  was  in  his  element,  and  he  soon  drove  it  away,  for  evidently 
it  had  not  counted  on  meeting  him ;  his  treatment  was  very 
simple,  and  the  medicines  were  not  hard  to  get ;  the  doctor 
simply  prescribed  pieces  of  ice  to  be  held  in  the  mouth ;  in  a  few 
hours  the  swelling  went  down  and  the  false  membrane  disap- 
peared; twenty-four  hours  later  Bell  was  up  again. 

When  the  others  wondered  at  the  doctor's  prescriptions  : 
"This  is  the  land  of  these  complaints,"  he  answered;  "the 
cure  must  be  near  the  disease." 

"  The  cure,  and  especially  the  doctor,"  added  Johnson,  in  whose 
mind  the  doctor  was  assuming  colossal  proportions. 

During  this  new  leisure  the  latter  resolved  to  have  a  serious 
talk  with  the  captain;  he  wanted  to  induce  Hatteras  to  give  up 
his  intention  of  going  northward  without  carrying  some  sort  of  a 
boat ;  a  piece  of  wood,  something  with  which  he  could  cross  an 
arm  of  the  sea,  if  they  should  meet  one.  The  captain,  w^ho  was 
fixed  in  his  views,  had  formally  vowed  not  to  use  a  boat  made  of 
the  fragments  of  the  American  ship.  The  doctor  was  uncertain 
how  to  broach  the  subject,  and  yet  a  speedy  decision  was  impor- 
15* 


346  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

tant,  for  the  month  of  June  would  be  the  time  for  distant  excur- 
sions. At  last,  after  long  reflection,  he  took  Hatteras  aside  one 
day,  and  with  his  usual  air  of  kindness  said  to  him,  — 

"  Hatteras,  you  know  I  am  your  friend  % " 

"  Certainly,"  answered  the  captain,  warmly,  "my  best  friend ; 
indeed,  my  only  one." 

"  If  I  give  you  a  piece  of  advice,"  resumed  the  doctor,  "  advice 
which  you  don't  ask  for,  would  you  consider  it  disinterested  1 " 

"Yes,  for  I  know  that  selfish  interest  has  never  been  your 
guide ;  but  what  do  you  want  to  say  1 " 

"  One  moment,  Hatteras;  I  have  something  else  to  ask  of  you  : 
Do  you  consider  me  a  true  Englishman  like  yourself,  and  eager 
for  the  glory  of  my  country  1 " 

Hatteras  looked  at  the  doctor  with  surprise. 

"  Yes,"  he  answered,  with  his  face  expressing  surprise  at  the 
question. 

*'  You  want  to  reach  the  North  Pole,"  resumed  the  doctor ;  "  I 
understand  your  ambition,  I  share  it,  but  to  reach  this  end  we 
need  the  means." 

"  Well,  have  n't  I  so  far  sacrificed  everything  in  order  to 
succeed  1 " 

"No,  Hatteras,  you  have  not  sacrificed  your  personal  preju- 
dices, and  at  this  moment  I  see  that  you  are  ready  to  refuse  the 
indispensable  means  of  reaching  the  Pole." 

"  Ah  ! "  answered  Hatteras,  "  you  mean  the  launch ;  this 
man  —  " 

"Come,  Hatteras,  let  us  argue  coolly,  without  passion,  and 
look  at  all  sides  of  the  question.  The  line  of  the  coast  on  which 
we  have  wintered  may  be  broken  ;  there  is  no  proof  that  it  runs 
six  degrees  to  the  north ;  if  the  information  which  has  brought 
you  so  far  is  right,  we  ought  to  find  a  vast  extent  of  open  sea 
during  the  summer  months.  Now,  with  the  Arctic  Ocean  before 
us,  free  of  ice  and  favorable  for  navigation,  what  shall  we  do  if  we 
lack  the  means  of  crossing  it  ] " 

Hatteras  made  no  answer. 

"Do  you  want  to  be  within  a  few  miles  of  the  Pole  without 
being  able  to  reach  it  ? " 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  347 

Hatteras's  head  sank  into  his  hands. 

"And  now,"  continued  the  doctor,  "  let  us  look  at  the  question 
from  a  moral  point  of  view.  I  can  understand  that  an  English- 
man should  give  up  his  life  and  his  fortune  for  the  honor  of  his 
country.  But  because  a  boat  made  of  a  few  planks  torn  from  a 
wrecked  American  ship  first  touches  the  coast  or  crosses  the  un- 
known ocean,  can  that  diminish  the  honor  of  the  discovery  1  If 
you  found  on  this  shore  the  hull  of  an  abandoned  ship,  should 
you  hesitate  to  make  use  of  iti  Doesn't  the  glory  of  success  belong 
to  the  head  of  the  expedition  1  And  I  ask  you  if  this  launch  built 
by  four  Englishmen,  manned  by  four  Englishmen,  would  not  be 
English  from  keel  to  gunwale  1" 

Hatteras  was  still  silent. 
•    *'  No,"  said  Clawbonny,  "  let  us  talk  frankly ;  it 's  not  the  boat 
you  mind,  it 's  the  man." 

"  Yes,  Doctor,  yes,"  answered  the  captain,  "  that  American ;  I 
hate  him  with  real  English  hate,  that  man  thrown  in  my  way 
by  chance  —  " 

"To  save  you!" 

"To  ruin  me!  He  seems  to  defy  me,  to  act  as  master,  to 
imagine  he  holds  my  fate  in  his  hands,  and  to  have  guessed 
my  plans.  Did  n't  he  show  his  character  when  we  were  giving 
names  to  the  new  lands  1  Has  he  ever  said  what  he  was  doing 
here  1  You  can't  free  me  of  the  idea  which  is  killing  me,  that 
this  man  is  the  head  of  an  expedition  sent  out  by  the  government 
of  the  United  States." 

"  And  if  he  is,  Hatteras,  what  is  there  to  show  that  he  is  in 
search  of  the  Pole]  Can't  America  try  to  discover  the  North- 
west Passage  as  well  as  England?  At  any  rate,  Altamont  is 
perfectly  ignorant  of  your  plans ;  for  neither  Johnson  nor  Bell 
nor  you  nor  I  has  said  a  single  word  about  them  in  his  pres- 
ence." 

"  Well,  I  hope  he  '11  never  know  them  ! " 

"  He  will  know  them  finally,  of  course,  for  we  can't  leave  him 
alone  here." 

"Why  not?"  asked  the  captain,  with  some  violence;  "can't 
he  remain  at  Fort  Providence?" 


348  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

"He  would  never  give  his  consent,  Hatteras;  and  then  to 
leave  him  here,  uncertain  of  finding  him  again,  would  be  more 
than  imprudent,  it  would  be  inhuman.  Altamont  will  come  with 
us ;  he  must  come  !  But  since  there  is  no  need  of  suggesting  new 
ideas  to  him,  let  us  say  nothing,  and  build  a  launch  apparently 
for  reconnoitring  these  new  shores." 

Hatteras  could  not  make  up  his  mind  to  accede  to  the  demands 
of  his  friend,  who  waited  for  an  answer  which  did  not  come. 

"And  if  he  refused  to  let  us  tear  his  ship  to  pieces  ! "  said  the 
captain,  finally. 

"  In  that  case,  you  would  have  the  right  on  your  side ;  you 
could  build  the  boat  in  spite  of  him,  and  he  could  do  nothing 
about  it." 

"  I  hope  he  will  refuse,"  exclaimed  Hatteras.    ■ 

"Before  he  refuses,"  answered  the  doctor,  "he  must  be  asked. 
I  will  undertake  to  do  it." 

In  fact,  that  evening,  before  supper,  Clawbonny  turned  the 
conversation  to  certain  proposed  expeditions  in  the  summer 
months  for  hydrographic  observations. 

"  I  suppose,  Altamont,"  he  said,  "  that  you  will  join  us  ?" 

"Certainly,"  was  the  reply;  "we  must  know  how  large  New 
America  is." 

Hatteras  gazed  earnestly  at  his  rival  while  he  made  his  answer. 

"And  for  that,"  continued  Altamont,  "we  must  make  the 
best  use  we  can  of  the  fragments  of  the  Porpoise ;  let  us  make 
a  strong  boat  which  can  carry  us  far." 

"  You  hear.  Bell,"  said  the  doctor,  quickly ;  "  to-morrow  we 
shall  set  to  work." 


CHAPTER    XV. 

THE   NORTHWEST   PASSAGE. 


The  next  day  Bell,  Altamont,  and  the  doctor  went  to  the 
Porpoise ;  they  found  no  lack  of  wood ;  the  old  three-masted 
launch,    though   injured   by   being  wrecked,  could   still   supply 


'The  carpenter  set  to  work  at  once."  —  Page 349. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


849 


abundant  material  for  the  new  one.  The  carpenter  set  to  work 
at  once ;  they  needed  a  seaworthy  boat,  which  should  yet  be 
light  enough  to  carry  on  a  sledge.  Towards  the  end  of  May 
the  weather  grew  warmer;  the  thermometer  rose  above  the 
freezing-point ;  the  spring  came  in  earnest  this  time,  and  the 
men  were  able  to  lay  aside  their  winter  clothing.  Much  rain 
fell,  and  soon  the  snow  began  to  slide  and  melt  away.  Hatteras 
could  not  hide  his  joy  at  seeing  the  first  signs  of  thaw  in  the 
ice-fields.     The  open  sea  meant  liberty  for  him. 


Whether  or  not  his  predecessors  had  been  wrong  on  this  great 
question  of  an  open  polar  sea,  he  hoped  soon  to  know.  All 
chance,  of  success  in  his  undertaking  depended  on  this.  One 
evening,  after  a  warm  day  in  which  the  ice  had  given  unmistak- 
able signs  of  breaking  up,  he  turned  the  conversation  to  the 
question  of  an  open  sea.  He  took  up  the  familiar  arguments, 
and  found  the  doctor,  as  ever,  a  warm  advocate  of  his  doctrine. 
Besides,  his  conclusions  were  evidently  accurate. 

"  It  is  plain,"  he  said,  "  that  if  the  ocean  before  Victoria  Bay 
gets  clear  of  ice,  its  southern  part  will  also  be  clear  as  far  as 
New  Cornwall  and  Queen's  Channel.  Penny  and  Belcher  saw 
it  in  that  state,  and  they  certainly  saw  clearly." 


350  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"I  agree  with  you,  Hatteras,"  answered  the  doctor,  "and  I 
have  no  reason  for  doubting  the  word  of  these  sailors ;  a  vain 
attempt  has  been  made  to  explain  their  discovery  as  an  effect 
of  mirage ;  but  they  were  so  certain,  it  was  impossible  that  they 
could  have  made  such  a  mistake." 

"I  always  thought  so,"  said  Altamont ;  *'the  polar  basin  ex- 
tends to  the  east  as  well  as  to  the  west." 

"  We  can  suppose  so,  at  any  rate,"  answered  Hatteras. 

"  We  ought  to  suppose  so,"  continued  the  American,  "  for  this 
open  sea  which  Captains  Penny  and  Belcher  saw  near  the  coast 
of  Grinnell  Land  was  seen  by  Morton,  Kane's  lieutenant,  in  the 
straits  which  are  named  after  that  bold  explorer." 

"We  are  not  in  Kane's  sea,"  answered  Hatteras,  coldly,  "and 
consequently  we  cannot  verify  the  fact." 

"  It  is  supposable,  at  least,"  said  Altamont. 

"  Certainly,"  replied  the  doctor,  who  wished  to  avoid  useless 
discussion.  "  What  Altamont  thinks  ought  to  be  the  truth ; 
unless  there  is  a  peculiar  disposition  of  the  surrounding  land, 
the  same  effects  appear  at  the  same  latitudes.  Hence  I  believe 
the  sea  is  open  in  the  east  as  well  as  in  the  west." 

"At  any  rate,  it  makes  very  little  difiference  to  us,"  said  Hat- 
teras. 

"  I  don't  agree  with  you,  Hatteras,"  resumed  the  American, 
who  was  beginning  to  be  annoyed  by  the  affected  unconcern  of 
the  captain ;  "it  may  make  considerable  difference  to  us." 

"  And  when,  if  I  may  ask  % " 

"  When  we  think  of  returning." 

"  Returning  ! "  cried  Hatteras,  "  and  who  's  thinking  of  that  ] " 

"  No  one,"  answered  Altamont ;  "  but  we  shall  stop  somewhere, 
I  suppose." 

"  And  where  1 "  asked  Hatteras. 

For  the  first  time  the  question  was  fairly  put  to  Altamont. 
The  doctor  would  have  given  one  of  his  arms  to  have  put  a  stop 
to  the  discussion.  Since  Altamont  made  no  answer,  the  captain 
repeated  his  question. 

"  And  where  1 " 

"Where  we. are  going,"  answered  the  American,  quietly. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  351 

"  And  who  knows  where  that  is  1 "  said  the  peace-loving  doctor. 

"  I  say,  then,"  Altamont  went  on,  "  that  if  we  want  to  make 
use  of  the  polar  basin  in  returning,  we  can  try  to  gain  Kane's 
sea ;  it  will  lead  us  more  directly  to  Baffin's  Bay." 

"  So  that  is  your  idea "? "  asked  the  captain,  ironically. 

"  Yes,  that  is  my  idea,  as  it  is  that  if  these  seas  ever  become 
practicable,  they  will  be  reached  by  the  straightest  way.  0,  that 
was  a  great  discovery  of  Captain  Kane's  !  " 

"  Indeed  !  "  said  Hatteras,  biting  his  lips  till  they  bled. 

"Yes,"  said  the  doctor,  ''that  cannot  be  denied;  everyone 
should  have  the  praise  he  deserves." 

"Without  considering,"  went  on  the  obstinate  American,  "that 
no  one  had  ever  before  gone  so  far  to  the  north." 

"I  like  to  think,"  said  Hatteras,  "that  now  the  English  have 
got  ahead  of  him." 

"  And  the  Americans  !  "  said  Altamont. 

"  Americans  ! "  repeated  Hatteras. 

"  What  am  I,  then  '^ "  asked  Altamont,  proudly. 

"You  are,"  answ^ered  Hatteras,  who  could  hardly  control  his 
voice,  —  "  you  are  a  man  who  presumes  to  accord  equal  glory  to 
science  and  to  chance  !  Your  American  captain  went  far  to  the 
north,  but  as  chance  alone  —  " 

"  Chance  ! "  shouted  Altamont ;  "  do  you  dare  to  say  that  this 
great  discovery  is  not  due  to  Kane's  energy  and  knowledge  ? " 

"I  say,"  answered  Hatteras,  "that  Kane's  name  is  not  fit  to 
be  pronounced  in  a  country  made  famous  by  Parry,  Franklin, 
Ross,  Belcher,  and  Penny  in  these  seas  which  opened  the  North- 
west Passage  to  MacClure  —  " 

"MacClure!"  interrupted  the  American;  "you  mention  that 
man,  and  yet  you  complain  of  the  work  of  chance  %  Was  n't  it 
chance  alone  that  favored  him  ] " 

"  No,"  answered  Hatteras,  warmly,  — "  no  !  It  was  his  courage, 
his  perseverance  in  spending  four  winters  in  the  ice  —  " 

"  I  should  think  so  ! "  retorted  the  American ;  "  he  got  caught 
in  the  ice  and  could  n't  get  out,  and  he  had  to  abandon  the 
Investigator  at  last  to  go  back  to  England." 

"  My  friends  —  "  said  the  doctor. 


352  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS.       . 

"  Besides,"  Altamont  went  on,  ''  let  us  consider  the  result. 
You  speak  of  the  Northwest  Passage;  well,  it  has  yet  to  be 
discovered ! " 

Hatteras  started  at  these  words ;  no  more  vexatious  question 
could  have  arisen  between  two  rival  nationalities.  The  doctor 
again  tried  to  intervene. 

"  You  are  mistaken,  Altamont,"  he  said. 

"No,  I  persist  in  my  opinions,"  he  said  obstinately;  "the 
Northwest  Passage  is  yet  to  be  found,  to  be  sailed  through,  if 
you  like  that  any  better !  MacClure  never  penetrated  it,  and 
to  this  day  no  ship  that  has  sailed  from  Behring  Strait  has 
reached  Baffin's  Bay  !  " 

That  was  true,  speaking  exactly.    What  answer  could  be  made  % 

Nevertheless,  Hatteras  rose  to  his  feet  and  said,  — 

"  I  shall  not  permit  the  good  name  of  an  English  captain  to 
be  attacked  any  further  in  my  presence." 

"You  will  not  permit  if?"  answered  the  American,  who  also 
rose  to  his  feet ;  "  but  these  are  the  facts,  and  it  is  beyond  your 
power  to  destroy  them." 

"Sir  !"  said  Hatteras,  pale  with  anger. 

"My  friends,"  said  the  doctor,  "don't  get  excited!  We  are 
discussing  a  scientific  subject." 

Clawbonny  looked  with  horror  at  a  scientific  discussion  into 
which  the  hate  of  an  American  and  an  Englishman  could  enter. 

"  I  am  going  to  give  you  the  facts,"  began  Hatteras,  threaten- 
ingly. 

"  But  I  'm  speaking  now  ! "  retorted  the  American. 

Johnson  and  Bell  became  very  uneasy. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  the  doctor,  severely,  "let  me  say  a  word  !  I 
insist  upon  it,  I  know  the  facts  as  well,  better  than  you  do,  and 
I  can  speak  of  them  impartially." 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  Bell  and  Johnson,  who  were  distressed  at  the 
turn  the  discussion  had  taken,  and  who  formed  a  majority  favor- 
able to  the  doctor. 

"Go  on,  Doctor,"  said  Johnson,  " these  gentlemen  will  listen, 
and  you  cannot  fail  to  give  us  some  information." 

"  Go  on.  Doctor,"  said  the  American. 


A  hard  struggle  with  the  icebergs.'  —  Page  354. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  353 

Hatteras  resumed  his  place  with  a  sign  of  acquiescence,  and 
folded  his  arms. 

"  I  will  tell  the  simple  truth  about  the  facts,"  said  the  doctor, 
"and  you  must  correct  me  if  I  omit  or  alter  any  detail." 

"  We  know  you,  Doctor,"  said  Bell,  "  and  you  can  speak  Without 
fear  of  interruption." 

"  Here  is  the  chart  of  the  Polar  Seas,"  resumed  the  doctor, 
who  had  brought  it  to  the  table ;  "  it  will  be  easy  to  trace  Mac- 
Clare's  course,  and  you  will  be  able  to  make  up  your  minds  for 
yourselves." 

Thereupon  he  unrolled  one  of  the  excellent  maps  published  by 
order  of  the  Admiralty,  containing  the  latest  discoveries  in  arctic 
regions  ;  then  he  went  on  :  — 

"You  know,  in  1848,  two  ships,  the  Herald,  Captain  Kellet, 
and  the  Plover,  Commander  Moore,  were  sent  to  Behring  Strait  in 
search  of  traces  of  Franklin ;  their  search  was  vain ;  in  1850 
they  were  joined  by  MacClure,  who  commanded  the  Investigator, 
a  ship  in  which  he  had  sailed,  in  1849,  under  James  Ross's  orders. 
He  was  followed  by  Captain  Collinson,  his  chief,  who  sailed  in 
the  Enterprise  ;  but  he  arrived  before  him.  At  Behring  Strait  he 
declared  h^  would  wait  no  longer,  and  that  he  would  go  alone,  on 
his  own  responsibility,  and  —  you  hear  me,  Altamont  —  that  he 
would  find  either  Franklin  or  the  passage." 

Altamont  showed  neither  approbation  nor  the  contrary. 

"August  5,  1850,"  continued  the  doctor,  "after  a  final  com- 
munication with  the  Plover,  MacClure  sailed  eastward  by  an  al- 
most unknown  route  ;  see  how  little  land  is  marked  upon  the 
chart.  August  30th  he  rounded  Cape  Bathurst ;  September  6th 
he  discovered  Baring  Land,  which  he  afterwards  discovered  to 
form  part  of  Banks  Land,  then  Prince  Albert's  Land.  Then  he 
resolved  to  enter  the  long  straits  between  these  two  large  islands, 
and  he  called  it  Prince  of  Wales  Strait.  You  can  follow  his  plan. 
He  hoped  to  come  out  in  Melville  Sound,  which  we  have  just 
crossed,  and  with  reason ;  but  the  ice  at  the  end  of  the  strait 
formed  an  impassable  bamer.  There  MacClure  wintered  in  1850- 
51,  and  meanwhile  he  pushed  on  over  the  ice,  to  make  sure 
that  the  strait  connected  with  the  sound." 


354         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"  Yes,"  said  Altamont,  "but  he  did  n't  succeed." 

"  One  moment,"  said  the  doctor.  "  While  wintering  there,  Mac- 
Clure's  officers  explored  all  the  neighboring  coasts :  Creswell, 
Baring's  Land ;  Haswell,  Prince  Albert's  Land,  to  the  south ;  and 
Wyriniat,  Cape  Walker,  to  the  north.  In  July,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  thaw,  MacClure  tried  a  second  time  to  carry  the  Investi- 
gator to  Melville  Sound  ;  he  got  within  twenty  miles  of  it,  twenty 
miles  only,  but  the  winds  carried  him  with  irresistible  force  to  the 
south,  before  he  could  get  through  the  obstacle.  Then  he  deter- 
mined to  go  back  through  Prince  of  Wales  Strait,  and  go  around 
Banks  Land,  to  try  at  the  w^est  what  he  could  not  do  in  the  east; 
he  put  about;  the  18th  he  rounded  Cape  Kellet;  the  19th,  Cape 
Prince  Alfred,  two  degrees  higher;  then,  after  a  hard  struggle 
with  the  icebergs,  he  was  caught  in  Banks  Strait,  in  the  series 
of  straits  leading  to  Baffin's  Bay." 

"  But  he  could  n't  get  through  them,"  said  Altamont. 

"  Wait  a  moment,  and  be  as  patient  as  MacClure  was.  Sep- 
tember 26th,  he  took  his  station  for  the  winter  in  Mercy  Bay,  and 
stayed  there  till  1852.  April  came;  MacClure  had  supplies  for 
only  eighteen  months.  Nevertheless,  he  was  unwilling  to  return ; 
he  started,  crossing  Banks  Strait  by  sledge,  and  reaclfed  Melville 
Island.  Let  us  follow  him.  He  hoped  to  find  here  Commander 
Austin's  ships,  which  were  sent  to  meet  him  by  Baffin's  Bay  and 
Lancaster  Sound  ;  April  28th  he  arrived  at  Winter  Harbor,  at 
the  place  where  Parry  had  wintered  thirty-three  years  previously, 
but  no  trace  of  the  ships  ;  only  he  found  in  a  cairn  a  paper,  telling 
him  that  MacClintock,  Austin's  lieutenant,  had  been  there  the 
year  before,  and  gone  away.  Any  one  else  would  have  been  in 
despair,  but  MacClure  was  not.  He  put  in  the  cairn  another 
paper,  in  which  he  announced  his  intention  of  returning  to  Eng- 
land by  the  Northwest  Passage,  which  he  had  discovered  by 
reaching  Baffin's  Bay  and  Lancaster  Sound.  If  he  is  not  heard 
from  again,  it  wall  be  because  he  will  have  been  to  the  north  or 
west  of  Melville  Island ;  then  he  returned,  not  discouraged,  to 
Mercy  Bay  for  the  third  winter,  1852-53." 

"  I  have  never  doubted  his  courage,"  said  Altamont,  "  but  his 
success." 


MacClure  saw  a  man  running  and  gesticulating.  —  Page  355. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  355 

*'  Let  us  follow  him  again,"  resumed  the  doctor.  "  In  the  month 
of  March,  being  on  two-thirds  rations,  at  the  end  of  a  very  severe 
winter,  when  no  game  was  to  be  had,  MacClure  determined  to 
send  back  half  of  his  crew  to  England,  either  by  Baffin's  Bay,  or 
by  Mackenzie  River  and  Hudson's  Bay ;  the  other  half  was  to 
bring  the  Investigator  back.  He  chose  the  weakest  men,  who 
could  not  stand  a  fourth  winter ;  everything  was  ready,  and  their 
departure  settled  for  April  1 5th,  when  on  the  6th,  MacClure,  who 
was  walking  on  the  ice  with  his  lieutenant,  Creswell,  saw  a  man 
running  northward  and  gesticulating ;  it  was  Lieutenant  Pirn  of 
the  Herald,  lieutenant  of  the  same  Captain  Kellet  whom  two 
years  before  he  had  left  at  Behring  Strait,  as  I  said  when  I  began. 
Kellet,  having  reached  Winter  Harbor,  found  the  paper  left  there 
by  MacClure ;  having  heard  in  that  way  of  his  position  in  Mercy 
Bay,  he  sent  Lieutenant  Pim  to  meet  the  captain.  He  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  detachment  of  the  men  of  the  Herald,  among  whom 
was  a  midshipman  of  a  French  ship,  M.  de  Bray,  who  was  a 
volunteer  aid  of  Captain  Kellet.  You  don't  doubt  this  meet- 
ing?" 

"  Not  at  all,"  answered  Altamont. 

"  Well,  see  what  followed,  and  whether  the  Northwest  Passage 
was  really  made.  If  you  join  Parry's  discoveries  to  those  of  Mac- 
Clure, you  will  see  the  northern  coast  of  America  was  rounded." 

"  But  not  by  a  single  ship,"  said  illtamont. 

"  No,  but  by  a  single  man.  Let  us  go  on.  MacClure  went  to 
see  Captain  Kellet  at  Melville  Island  ;  in  twelve  days  he  made 
the  one  hundred  and  seventy  miles  between  Winter  Harbor  and 
the  island  ;  he  agreed  with  the  commander  of  the  Herald  to  send 
him  his  sick,  and  returned  ;  many  others  would  have  thought, 
had  they  been  in  MacClure's  place,  that  they  had  done  enough, 
but  this  bold  young  man  determined  to  try  his  fortune  again. 
Then,  and  please  observe  this,  Lieutenant  Creswell,  with  the  sick 
and  disabled  men  of  the  Investigator,  left  Mercy  Bay,  reached 
Winter  Harbor,  and  from  there,  after  a  journey  of  four  hundred 
and  seventy  miles  on  the  ice,  reached  Beechey  Island,  June  2d, 
and  a  few  days  later,  with  twelve  of  his  men,  he  took  passage  on 
board  of  the  Phcenix.'' 


356  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT T ERAS. 

"In  which  I  was  at  the  time,"  said  Johnson,  "with  Captain 
Inglefield,  and  we  returned  to  England." 

"And  October  7,  1853,"  continued  the  doctor,  "  Creswell 
arrived  at  London,  after  having  crossed  over  the  whole  distance 
between  Behring  Strait  and  Cape  Farewell." 

"Well,"  said  Hatteras,  "to  enter  at  one  end  and  go  out  by 
the  other,  is  n't  that  going  through  % " 

"  Yes,"  answered  Altamont,  "  but  by  going  four  hundred  and 
seventy  miles  over  the  ice." 

"Well,  what  difference  does  that  makel" 

"The  whole,"  answered  the  American.  "Did  MacClure's  ship 
make  the  passage  % " 

"No,"  answered  the  doctor,  "for  after  a  fourth  winter,  Mac- 
Clure  was  obliged  to  leave  it  in  the  ice." 

"  Well,  in  a  sea-voyage  it 's  important  to  have  the  ship  reach 
her  destination.  If  the  Northwest  Passage  ever  becomes  practi- 
cable, it  must  be  for  ships  and  not  for  sledges.  The  ship  must 
accomplish  the  voyage,  or  if  not  the  ship,  the  launch." 

"The  launch!"  shouted  Hatteras,  who  detected  the  hidden 
meaning  in  the  American's  words. 

"Altamont,"  said  the  doctor,  hurriedly,  "you  make  a  puerile 
distinction,  and  we  all  consider  you  wrong." 

"  That  is  easy,  gentlemen,"  answered  the  American ;  "  you  are 
four  to  one.  But  that  won't  keep  me  from  holding  my  own 
opinion." 

"Keep  it,"  said  Hatteras,  "and  so  closely  that  we  need  hear 
nothing  about  it." 

"And  what  right  have  you  to  speak  to  me  in  that  way?" 
asked  the  American  in  a  rage. 

"My  right  as  captain,"  answered  Hatteras. 

"  Am  I  under  your  commands  % "  retorted  Altamont. 

"Without  doubt,  and  look  out  for  yourself,  if — " 

The  doctor,  Johnson,  and  Bell  intervened.  It  was  time ;  the 
two  enemies  were  gazing  at  one  another.  The  doctor  was  very 
anxious.  Still,  after  a  few  gentler  words,  Altamont  went  off  to 
bed  whistling  "  Yankee  Doodle,"  and,  whether  he  slept  or  not,  he 
did  not  speak.  Hatteras  went  out  and  paced  up  and  down  for  an 
hour,  and  then  he  turned  in  without  saying  a  word. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


357 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


NORTHERN    ARCADIA. 


On  May  29th,  for  the  first  time,  the  sun  did  not  set ;  it  merely 
touched  the  horizon  and  then  rose  at  once ;  the  day  was  twenty- 
four  hours  long.  The  next  day  it  was  surrounded  by  a  magnifi- 
cent halo,  a  bright  circle  with  all  the  colors  of  the  prism ;  this 
apparition,  which  was  by  no  means  rare,  always  attracted  the 
doctor's  attention ;  .he  never  failed  to  note  the  date  and  appear- 
ance of  the  phenomenon ;  the  one  he  saw  on  that  day  was  of  an 
elliptic  shape,  which  he  had  seldom  seen  before. 


•i>- 


Soon  the  noisy  flocks  of  birds  appeared;  bustards  and  wild 
geese  came  from  Florida  or  Arkansas,  flying  northward  with  in- 
conceivable rapidity  and  bringing  the  spring  with  them.  The  doc- 
tor shot  a  few,  as  well  as  three  or  four  cranes  and  a  single  stork. 
However,  the  snow  was  melting  everywhere  beneath  the  sun ;  the 
salt-water,  which  overran  the  ice-field  through  the  crevasses  and 
the  seal-holes,  hastened  the  melting ;  the  ice  which  was  mingled 


358  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HA^TERAS. 

with  salt-water  formed  a  soft  slush.  Large  pools  appeared  on  the 
land  near  the  bay,  and  the  exposed  soil  seemed  to  be  a  production 
of  the  arctic  spring. 

The  doctor  then  resumed  his  planting ;  he  had  plenty  of  seed  ; 
besides,  he  was  surprised  to  see  a  sort  of  sorrel  growing  naturally 
between  the  dried  rocks,  and  he  wondered  at  the  force  of  nature 
which  demanded  so  little  in  order  to  manifest  itself.  He  sowed 
some  cresses,  of  which  the  young  sprouts,  three  weeks  later,  were 
already  an  inch  long. 

The  heath  began  to  show  timidly  its  little  pale,  rosy  flowers. 
In  fact,  the  flora  of  New  America  is  very  defective  ;  still,  this  rare 
vegetation  was  agreeable  to  their  eyes ;  it  was  all  the  feeble  rays 
of  the  sun  could  nourish,  a  trace  of  the  Providence  which  had  not 
completely  forgotten  these  distant  countries.  At  last  it  became 
really  warm  ;  June  15th  the  thermometer  stood  at  57°;  the  doc- 
tor could  hardly  believe  his  eyes ;  the  country  changed  its  ap- 
pearance ;  numerous  noisy  cascades  fell  from  the  sunny  summits 
of  the  hills ;  the  ice  loosened,  and  the  great  question  of  an  open 
sea  would  soon  be  decided.  The  air  was  full  of  the  noise  of  ava- 
lanches falling  from  the  hills. to  the  bottom  of  the  ravines,  and 
the  cracking  of  the  ice-field  produced  a  deafening  sound. 

A  trip  was  made  to  Johnson  Island ;  it  was  merely  an  unim- 
portant, arid,  barren  island ;  but  the  old  boatswain  was  no  less 
proud  of  giving  his  name  to  a  few  desolate  rocks.  He  even 
wanted  to  carve  it  on  a  high  peak.  During  this  excursion, 
Hatteras  had  carefully  explored  these  lands,  even  beyond  Cape 
Washington ;  the  melting  of  the  snow  sensibly  changed  the  coun- 
try; ravines  and  hillocks  appeared  here  and  there,  where  the 
snow  indicated  nothing  but  monotonous  stretches.  The  house 
and  magazines  threatened  to  melt  away,  and  they  had  frequently 
to  be  repaired;  fortunately,  a  temperature  of  57°  is  rare  in  these 
latitudes,  and  the  mean  is  hardly  above  the  freezing-point. 

By  the  middle  of  June  the  launch  was  far  advanced  and  getting 
into  shape.  While  Bell  and  Johnson  were  working  at  it,  the 
others  had  a  few  successful  hunts.  Reindeer  were  shot,  although 
they  are  hard  to  approach ;  but  Altamont  put  in  practice  a  de- 
vice employed  by  the  Indians  of  his  own  country ;  he  crept  over 


--__L— ^-^  ^^.HMlAUL^ 


"The  doctor,  Johnson,  and  Bell  intervened.     It  was  time  ;  the  two  enemies 
were  gazing  at  one  another."  —  Page  356. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


359 


the  ground  with  his  gun  and  arms  outstretched  hke  the  horns  of 
one  of  these  shy  animals,  and  having  thus  come  within  easy  gim- 
shot,  he  could  not  fail. 

But  the  best  game,  the  musk-ox,  of  which  Parry  found  plenty 
at  Melville  Island,  appeared  not  to  frequent  the  shores  of  Victo- 
ria Bay.  A  distant  hunt  was  determined  on,  as  much  to  get 
these  valuable  animals  as  to  reconnoitre  the  eastern  lands.  Hat- 
teras  did  not  propose  to  reach  the  Pole  by  this  part  of  the  conti- 
nent, but  the  doctor  was  not  sorry  to  get  a  general  idea  of  the 
country.  Hence  they  decided  to  start  to  the  east  of  Fort 
Providence.  Altamont  intended  to  hunt ;  Duke  naturally 
was  of  the  party. 


So,  Monday,  June  17th,  a  pleasant  day,  w^ith  the  thermometer 
at  41°,  and  the  air  quiet  and  clear,  the  three  hunters,  each  carry- 
ing a  double-barrelled  gun,  a  hatchet,  a  snow-knife,  and  followed 
by  Duke,  left  Doctor's  House  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning.  They 
were  fitted  out  for  a  trip  of  two  or  three  days,  wdth  the  requisite 
amount  of  provisions.  By  eight  o'clock  Hatteras  and  his  two 
companions  had  gone  eight  miles.  Not  a  living  thing  had 
tempted  a  shot,  and  their  hunt  threatened  to  be  merely  a  trip. 

This  new  country  exhibited  vast  plains  running  out  of  sight; 


•36a  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


new  streams  divided  them  everywhere,  and  large,  unruffled  pools 
reflected  the  sun.     The  layers  of  melting  ice  bared  the  ground 

to  their  feet;  it 
belonged  to  the 
great  division  of 
sedimentary  earth, 
and  the  result  of 
the  action  of  the 
water,  which  is  so 
common  on  the 
surface  of  the 
globe.  Still  a  few 
erratic  blocks  were 
seen  of  a  singular 
nature,  foreign  to 
the  soil  where  they 
were  found,  and 
whose  presence  it 
was  hard  to  ex- 
plain. Schists 
and  different  pro- 
ductions of  lime- 
stone were  found 
in  abundance,  as 
•was  also  a  sort  of  strange,  transparent,  colorless  crystal,  which  has 
a  refraction  peculiar  to  Iceland  spar. 

But,  although  he  was  not  hunting,  the  doctor  had  not  time  to 
geologize  ;  he  had  to  walk  too  quickly,  in  order  to  keep  up  with 
his  friends.  Still,  he  observed  the  land  and  talked  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, for  had  he  not  there  would  have  been  total  silence  in  the 
little  band ;  neither  Altamont  nor  the  captain  had  any  desire  to 
talk  to  one  another. 

By  ten  o'clock  the  hunters  had  got  a  dozen  miles  to  the  east ; 
the  sea  was  hidden  beneath  the  horizon ;  the  doctor  proposed  a 
halt  for  breakfast.  They  swallowed  it  rapidly,  and  in  half  an 
hour  they  were  off  again.  The  ground  was  sloping  gently  ;  a  few 
patches  of  snow,  preserved  either  by  their  position  or  the  slope  of 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


361 


the  rocks,  gave  it  a  woolly  appearance,  like  waves  in  a  high  wind. 
The  country  was  still  barren,  and  looking  as  if  no  living  being- 
had  ever  set  foot  in  it. 

"We  have  no  luck,"  said  Altamont  to  the  doctor;  **to  be 
sure,  the  country  does  n't  offer  much  food  to  animals,  but  the 
game  here  ought  not  to  be  over-particular,  and  ought  to  show 
itself." 

"  Don't  let  us  despair,"  said  the  doctor ;  "  the  summer  has 
hardly  begun;  and  if  Parry  met  so  many  animals  at  Melville 
Island,  we  may  be  as  lucky  here." 


"Still,  we  are  farther  north,"  said  Hatteras. 

"Certainly,  but  that  is  unimportant;  it  is  the  pole  of  cold  we 
ought  to  consider;  that  is  to  say,  that  icy  wilderness  in  the  middle 
of  which  we  wintered  with  the  Forward;  now  the  farther  north 
we  go,  the  farther  we  are  from  the  coldest  part  of  the  globe ;  we 
ought  to  find,  beyond,  what  Parry,  Ross,  and  others  found  on  the 
other  side." 

"  Well,"  said  Altamont,  with  a  regretful  sigh,  "  so  far  we  've 
been  travellers  rather  than  hunters." 

"Be  patient/'  answered  the  doctor;  "the  country  is  changing 
gradually,  and  I  should  be  astonished  if  we  don't  find  game 
16 


362 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


enough  in  the  ravines  where  vegetation  has  had  a  chance  to 
sprout." 

"  It  must  be  said,"  continued  Altamont,  "  that  we  are  going 
through  an  uninhabited  and  uninhabitable  country." 

"  0,  uninhabitable  is  a  strong  word  !"  answered  the  doctor;  "  I 
can't  believe  any  land  uninhabitable ;  man,  by  many  sacrifices, 
and  for  generations  using  all  the  resources  of  science,  might  finally 
fertilize  such  a  country." 


"  Do  you  think  so  % "  asked  Altamont. 

"  Without  doubt !  If  you  were  to  go  to  the  celebrated  coun- 
tries of  the  world,  to  Thebes,  Nineveh,  or  Babylon,  in  the  fertile 
valleys  of  our  ancestors,  it  would  seem  impossible  that  men  should 
ever  have  lived  there;  the  air  itself  has  grown  bad  since  the 
disappearance  of  human  beings.  It  is  the  general  law  of  nature 
which  makes  those  countries  in  which  we  do  not  live  unhealthy 
and  sterile,  like  those  out  of  which  life  has  died.  In  fact,  man 
himself  makes  his  own  country  by  his  presence,  his  habits,  his 
industry,  and,  I  might  add,  by  his  breath  ;  he  gradually  mod- 
ifies the  exhalations  of  the  soil  and  the  atmospheric  conditions, 
and  he  makes  the  air  he  breathes  wholesome.  So  there  are  unin- 
habited lands,  I  grant,  but  none  uninhabitable." 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


363 


Talking  in  this  way,  the  hunters,  who  had  become  naturalists, 
pushed  on  and  reached  a  sort  of  valley,  fully  exposed,  at  the  bot- 
tom of  which  a  river,  nearly  free  of  ice,  was  flowing ;  its  southern 
exposure  had  brought  forth  a  certain  amount  of  vegetation.  The 
earth  showed  a  strong  desire  to  grow  fertile ;  with  a  few  inches 
of  rich  soil  it  would  have  produced  a  good  deal.  The  doctor 
called  their  attention  to  these  indications. 

'•See,"  he  said,  "a  few  hardy  colonists  might  settle  in  this 
ravine.  With  industry  and  perseverance  they  could  do  a  great 
deal ;  not  as  much  as  is  seen  in  the  temperate  zones,  but  a 
respectable  show.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  there  are  some  four- 
footed  animals !     They  know  the  good  spots." 

"  They  are  Arctic  hares,"  shouted  Altamont,  cocking  his  gun. 

"  Wait  a  moment,"  cried  the  doctor,  —  "  wait  a  moment,  you 
hasty  fellow.  They  don't  think  of  running  away  !  See,  they  '11 
come  to  us  !  " 


And,  in  fact,  three  or  four  young  hares,  springing  about  in  the 
heath  and  young  moss,  ran  boldly  towards  the  three  men ;  they 
were  so  cimning  that  even  Altamont  was  softened. 

Soon  they  were  between  the  doctor's  legs ;  he  caressed  them 
with  his  hand,  saying,  — 


364  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

"Why  shoot  these  little  animals  which  come  to  be  petted] 
We  need  not  kill  them." 

"  You  are  right,  Doctor,"  answered  Hatteras ;  "  we  '11  let  them 
live." 

"  And  these  ptarmigan,  too,  which  are  flying  towards  us ! " 
cried  Altamont ;  "  and  these  long-legged  water-fowl !  " 

A  whole  flock  of  birds  passed  over  the  hunters,  not  suspecting 
the  peril  from  which  the  doctor's  presence  saved  them.  Even 
Duke  was  compelled  to  admire  them. 

They  were  a  curious  and  touching  sight,  flying  about  without  fear, 
resting  on  Clawbonny's  shoulders,  lying  at  his  feet,  offering  them- 
selves to  his  caresses,  seeming  to  do  their  best  to  welcome  their 
new  guests ;  they  called  one  another  joyously,  flying  from  the 
most  distant  points ;  the  doctor  seemed  to  be  a  real  bird-charmer. 
The  hunters  continued  their  march  up  the  moist  banks  of  the 
brook,  followed  by  the  familiar  band,  and  turning  from  the  valley 
they  perceived  a  troop  of  eight  or  ten  reindeer  browsing  on  a  few 
lichens  half  buried  beneath  the  snow ;  they  were  graceful,  quiet 
animals,  with  their  branching  antlers,  which  the  female  carried  as 
well  as  the  male  ;  their  wool-like  fur  was  already  losing  its  winter 
whiteness  in  favor  of  the  summer  brown  and  gray ;  they  seemed 
no  more  timid  than  the  hares  and  birds  of  the  country.  Such 
w^ere  the  relations  of  the  first  men  to  the  first  animals  in  the 
early  ages  of  the  w^orld. 

The  hunters  reached  the  middle  of  the  band  without  any  one 
flying ;  this  time  the  doctor  found  it  hard  to  restrain  the  instincts 
of  Altamont,  w^ho  could  not  calmly  look  on  this  game  without  a 
thirst  for  blood  rising  in  his  brain.  Hatteras  looked  mildly  at 
these  gentle  beasts,  who  rubbed  their  noses  against  the  doctor's 
clothes ;  he  was  the  friend  of  all  the  animals. 

"  But,"  said  Altamont,  "did  n't  we  come  here  to  shoot  1  " 

"  To  shoot  musk-ox,"  answered  Clawbonny,  "  and  nothing  else  ! 
We  should  have  no  need  of  this  game ;  we  have  food  enough,  so 
let  us  enjoy  the  sight  of  man  walking  thus  among  these  animals, 
without  alarming  them." 

"  That  proves  they  have  never  seen  one  before,"  said  Hat- 
teras. 


'  They  were  a  curious  and  touching  sight,  flying  about  witliout  fear,  resting  on 
Clawbonny's  shoulders,  etc."  —  Page  364. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


365 


"  Evidently,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  and  so  we  can  be  sure  that 
these  animals  are  not  of  American  origin." 

"  And  why  so  ]  "  said  Altamont. 

"  If  they  were  born  on  the  continent  of  North  America,  they 
would  know  what  to  think  of  men,  and  they  would  have  fled  at 
the  sight  of  us.  No ;  they  probably  came  from  the  north,  from 
those  unknown  lands  where  our  kind  has  never  set  foot,  and 
they  have  crossed  the  continents  near  the  Pole.  So,  Altamont, 
you  can't  claim  them  as  your  fellow-countrymen." 

"  0,"  answered  Altamont,  "  a  hunter  does  not  scrutinize  so 
closely,  and  the  game  belongs  to  the  land  where  it  was  shot ! " 

"  Well,  calm  yourself,  my  Nimrod  !  As  for  me,  I  would  rather 
never  fire  a  gun  in  my  life  than  alarm  this  timid  population. 
See,  even  Duke  fraternizes  with  the  charming  beasts !  Come, 
we  '11  be  kind  when  we  can !     Kindness  is  a  force  ! " 

"  Well,  well,"  answered  Altamont,  who  sympathized  but  slightly 
with  this  sensitiveness ;  "  but  I  should  be  amused  to  see  you  armed 
with  this  kindness  alone  among  a  flock  of  bears  or  wolves  !  " 


''''-j<f. 


"  0,  I  don't  pretend  to  charm  wild  beasts  ! "  answered  the  doc- 
tor ;  "  I  have  little  faith  in  the  enchantment  of  Orpheus ;  besides, 
bears  and  wolves  would  n't  come  up  to  us  like  the  hares,  par- 
tridges, and  reindeer." 


366  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

"  Why  not,"  answered  Altamont,  "  if  they  have  never  seen 
menr' 

''  Because  they  are  naturally  ferocious,  and  ferocity,  like  mali- 
ciousness, begets  suspicion;  a  remark  which  is  true  of  man  as 
well  as  of  animals.  A  wicked  man  is  distrustful,  and  fear  is 
commonly  found  in  those  who  are  able  to  inspire  it." 

This  little  lesson  in  natural  philosophy  ended  the  conversation. 

The  whole  day  was  passed  in  this  Northern  Arcadia,  as  the 
doctor  named  the  valley,  with  the  consent  of  his  companions ;  and 
that  evening,  after  a  supper  which  had  not  cost  the  life  of  a  single 
inhabitant  of  the  country,  the  three  hunters  went  to  sleep  in  a 
cleft  of  a  rock  which  was  admirably  adapted  for  a  shelter. 


CHAPTER    XYII. 
altamoxt's  kevenge.     , 

The  next  day  the  doctor  and  his  two  companions  w^oke  up 
after  a  perfectly  quiet  night.  The  cold,  although  not  keen,  in- 
creased towards  daybreak,  but  they  were  well  covered,  and  slept 
soundly  under  the  watch  of  the  peaceful  animals. 

The  weather  being  pleasant,  they  resolved  to  consecrate  the 
day  to  a  reconnoissance  of  the  country,  and  the  search  of  musk- 
oxen.  Altamont  insisted  on  shooting  something,  and  they  decided 
that,  even  if  these  oxen  should  be  the  gentlest  animals  in  the 
world,  they  should  be  shot.  Besides,  their  flesh,  although  strongly 
flavored  with  musk,  was  pleasant  eating,  and  they  all  hoped  to 
carry  back  to  Fort  Providence  a  good  supply  of  it. 

During  the  early  morning  hours  nothing  noteworthy  took 
place  ;  the  land  grew  diflerent  in  the  northeast ;  a  few  elevations, 
the  beginning  of  a  mountainous  district,  indicated  a  change.  If 
this  New  America  were  not  a  continent,  it  was  at  any  rate  an  im- 
portant island ;  but  then  they  did  not  have  to  trouble  themselves 
about  its  geography. 

Duke  ran  ahead,  and  soon  came  across  some  traces  of  a  herd 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


367 


of  musk-oxen;  he  then  advanced  rapidly,  and  soon  disappeared 
from  the  eyes  of  the  hunters.  They  followed  his  clear  barking, 
which  soon  grew  so  hasty  that  they  knew  he  had  discovered  the 
object  of  their  search.  They  pushed  on,  and  in  an  hour  and  a 
half  they  came  up  to  two  of  these  animals ;  they  were  large,  and 
formidable  in  appearance.      They  appeared  much  surprised   at 


Duke's  attacks,  but  not  alarmed  ;  they  were  feeding  off  a  sort  of 
reddish  moss  which  grew  on  the  thin  soil.  The  doctor  recognized 
them  at  once  from  their  moderate  height,  their  horns,  which  were 
broad  at  the  base,  the  absence  of  muzzle,  their  sheep-like  fore- 
head, and  short  tail ;  their  shape  has  earned  for  them  from  natu- 
ralists the  name  of  "  ovibos,"  a  compound,  and  which  expresses  the 
two  sorts  of  animals  whose  characteristics  they  share.  Thick, 
long  hair  and  a  sort  of  delicate  brown  silk  formed  their  fur. 

They  ran  away  when  they  saw  the  two  hunters,  who  came 
running  up  after  them.  It  was  hard  to  reach  them  for  men  who 
were  out  of  breath  after  running  half  an  hour.  Hatteras  and  his 
companions  stopped. 

"  The  Devil ! "  said  Altamont. 

"  That 's  just  the  word,"  said  the  doctor,  as  soon  as  he  could 
take  breath.  "I  '11  grant  they  are  Americans,  and  they  can't 
have  a  very*  good  idea  of  your  countrymen." 


368 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


"  That  proves  we  are  good  hunters,"  answered  Altamont. 

Still,  the  musk-oxen,  seeing  they  were  not  pursued,  stopped  in 
a  posture  of  surprise.  It  became  evident  that  they  could  never 
be  run  down ;  they  would  have  to  be  surrounded ;  the  plateau  on 
which  they  were  aided  this  manoeuvre.  The  hunters,  leaving 
Duke  to  harass  them,  descended  through  the  neighboring  ravines, 
so  as  to  get  around  the  plateau.  Altamont  and  the  doctor  hid 
behind  a  rock  at  one  end,  while  Hatteras,  suddenly  advancing 
from  the  other  end,  should  drive  the  oxen  towards  them.  In 
half  an  hour  each  had  gained  his  post. 

"You  don't  object  any  longer  to  our  shooting  1"  asked  Alta- 
mont. 

"  No,  it 's  fair  fighting,"  answered  the  doctor,  who,  in  spite  of 
gentleness,  was  a  real  sportsman. 

•  They  were  talking  in  this  way,  when  they  saw  the  oxen  run- 
ning, and  Duke  at  their  heels ;  farther  on  Hatteras  was  driving 
them,  with  loud  cries,  towards  the  American  and  the  doctor,  who 
ran  to  meet  this  magnificent  prey. 


At  once  the  oxen  stopped,  and,  less  fearful  of  a  single  enemy, 
they  turned  upon  Hatteras.  He  awaited  them  calmly,  aimed  at 
the  nearest,  and  fired ;  but  the  bullet  struck  the  animal  in  the 


-50     ^-V^ifc 

Gave  him  a  terrible  blow  with  a  hatchet  on  the  head."  —  Page  369. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  369 

middle  of  his  forehead,  without  penetrating  the  skull.  Hatteras's 
second  shot  produced  no  other  effect  than  to  make  the  beasts 
furious ;  they  ran  to  the  disarmed  hunter,  and  threw  him  down 
at  once. 

"He  is  lost,"  cried  the  doctor. 

At  the  moment  Clawbonny  pronounced  these  words  with  an 
accent  of  despair,  Altamont  made  a  step  forward  to  run  to  Hat- 
teras's aid ;  then  he  stopped,  struggling  against  himself  and  his 
prejudices. 

"No,"  he  cried,  "that  would  be  cowardice." 

He  hastened  with  Clawbonny  to  the  scene  of  combat.  His 
hesitation  had  not  lasted  half  a  second.  But  if  the  doctor  saw 
what  was  taking  place  in  the  American's  heart,  Hatteras  under- 
stood it,  who  would  rather  have  died  than  have  implored  his 
rival's  interference.  Still,  he  had  hardly  time  to  perceive  it,  for 
Altamont  appeared  before  him.  Hatteras,  lying  on  the  ground, 
was  trying  to  ward  off  the  horns  and  hoofs  of  the  two  animals. 
But  he  could  not  long  continue  so  unequal  a  struggle.  He  was 
about  to  be  torn  in  pieces,  when  two  shots  were  heard.  Hatteras 
heard  the  bullets  whistling  by  his  head. 

"  Don't  be  frightened  ! "  shouted  Altamont,  hurling  his  gun  to 
one  side,  and  rushing  upon  the  angry  animals. 

One  of  the  oxen  fell,  shot  through  the  heart ;  the  other,  wild 
with  rage,  was  just  going  to  gore  the  captain,  when  Altamont  faced 
him,  and  plunged  into  his  mouth  his  hand,  armed  with  a  snow- 
knife  ;  with  the  other  he  gave  him  a  terrible  blow  with  a  hatchet 
on  the  head.  This  was  done  with  marvellous  rapidity,  and  a 
flash  of  lightning  would  have  lit  up  the  whole  scene. 

The  second  ox  fell  back  dead. 

"  Hurrah  !  hurrah  !  "  cried  Clawbonny. 

Hatteras  was  saved.  He  owed  his  life  to  the  man  whom  he 
detested  most  in  the  world.  What  was  going  on  in  his  mind  at 
this  time  1  What  emotion  was  there  which  he  could  not  master  1 
That  is  one  of  the  secrets  of  the  heart  which  defy  all  anal^^sis. 

However  that  may  be,  Hatteras  advanced  to  his  rival  without 
hesitation,  and  said  to  him  seriously,  — 

"  You  have  saved  my  life,  Altamont." 

16»  X 


370  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"You  saved  mine,"  answered  the  American.  There  was  a 
moment's  silence.  Then  Altamont  added,  "We  are  now  quits, 
Hatteras !  " 

"  No,  Altamont,"  answered  the  captain ;  "  when  the  doctor  took 
you  from  your  icy  tomb,  I  did  not  know  who  you  were,  and  you 
have  saved  me  at  the  risk  of  your  own  life,  knowing  who  I  was." 

"  You  are  a  fellow-being,"  answered  Altamont ;  "  and  whatever 
else  he  may  be,  an  American  is  not  a  coward." 

"  No,  he  is  not,"  said  the  doctor ;  "  he  is  a  man !  a  man  like 
you,  Hatteras  ! " 

"  And  like  me  he  shall  share  the  glory  which  is  awaiting  us  !  " 

"  The  glory  of  going  to  the  North  Pole  % "  said  Altamont. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  captain,  haughtily. 

"  I  had  guessed  it !  "  exclaimed  the  American.  "  So  you  dared 
conceive  of  this  bold  design  !  You  dared  try  to  reach  that  inac- 
cessible point !     Ah,  that  is  gi'eat !     It  is  sublime  ! " 

"But  you,"  asked  Hatteras,  hurriedly,  "were  you  not  on  your 
way  to  the  Pole  % " 

Altamont  seemed  to  hesitate  about  replyiftg. 

"  Well  1 "  said  the  doctor. 

"  Well,  no,"  answered  the  American,  —  "no ;  tell  the  truth,  and 
shame  the  Devil !  No,  I  did  not  have  this  great  idea,  which  has 
brought  you  here.  I  was  trying  simply  to  sail  through  the  North- 
west Passage,  that  is  all." 

"Altamont,"  said  Hatteras,  holding  out  his  hand  to  the  Amer- 
ican," "share  our  glory,  and  go  with  us  to  the  North  Pole  ! " 

The  two  men  then  shook  hands  warmly. 

When  they  turned  towards  the  doctor,  they  saw  his  eyes  full 
of  tears. 

"  Ah,  my  friends,"  he  murmured,  as  he  dried  his  eyes,  "  how 
can  my  heart  hold  the  joy  with  which  you  fill  it  %  My  dear  com- 
panions, you  have  sacrificed  a  miserable  question  of  nationality 
in  order  to  unite  in  your  common  success  !  You  know  that  Eng- 
land and  America  liave  nothing  to  do  with  all  this ;  that  mutual 
sympathy  ought  to  bind  you  together  against  the  dangers  of  the 
journey  !  If  the  North  Pole  is  discovered,  what  difference  does 
it  make  who  does  it?  Why  stand  bickering  about  English  or 
American,  when  we  can  be  proud  of  being  men?" 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  371 

The  doctor  embraced  the  reconciled  foes ;  he  could  not  restrain 
his  joy.  The  two  new  friends  felt  themselves  drawn  closer  together 
by  the  friendship  this  worthy  man  had  for  them  both.  Claw- 
bonny  spoke  freely  of  the  vanity  of  competition,  of  the  madness 
of  rivalry,  and  of  the  need  of  agreement  between  men  so  far  from 
home.  His  words,  his  tears  and  caresses,  came  from  the  bottom 
of  his  heart. 

Still,  he  grew  calm  after  embracing  Hatteras  and  Altamont 
for  the  twentieth  time. 

"And  now,"  he  said,  "to  work,  to  work!  Since  I  was  no  use 
as  a  hunter,  let  me  try  in  another  capacity  !  " 

Thereupon  he  started  to  cut  up  the  ox,  which  he  called  the 
"ox  of  reconciliation,"  but  he  did  it  as  skilfully  as  if  he  were 
a  surgeon  conducting  a  delicate  autopsy.  His  two  companions 
gazed  at  him  in  amusement.  In  a  few  minutes  he  had  cut  from 
the  body  a  hundred  pounds  of  flesh ;  he  gave  each  one  a  third 
of  it,  and  they  again  took  up  their  march  to  Fort  Providence. 
At  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  after  walking  in  the  oblique  rays 
of  the  sun,  they  reached  Doctor's  House,  where  Johnson  and 
Bell  had  a  good  supper  awaiting  them. 

But  before  they  sat  dow^n  to  table,  the  doctor  said  in  a  voice 
of  triumph,  as  he  pointed  to  his  two  companions,  — 

"Johnson,  I  carried  away  with  me  an  Englishman  and  an 
American,  did  I  not  %  " 

"  Yes,  Dr.  Clawbonny,"  answered  the  boatswain. 

"  Well,  I  've  brought  back  two  brothers." 

The  two  sailors  gladly  shook  Altamont's  hand  ;  the  doctor  told 
them  what  the  American  captain  had  done  for  the  English  cap- 
tain, and  that  night  the  snow-house  held  five  perfectly  happy 
men. 


372         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  EATTEBAS. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 


THE    LAST    PREPARATIONS. 


The  next  day  the  weather  changed ;  there  was  a  return  of 
cold;  the  snow  and  rain  gust  raged  for  many  days. 

Bell  had  finished  the  launch ;  it  was  perfectly  satisfactory 
for  the  purpose  it  was  intended  for;  partly  decked,  and  partly 
open,  it  could  sail  in  heavy  weather  under  mainsail  and  jib, 
while  it  was  so  light  as  not  to  be  too  heavy  a  load  on  the 
sledge  for  the  dogs. 


Then,  too,  a  change  of  great  importance  was  taking  place  in 
the  state  of  the  polar  basin.  The  ice  in  the  middle  of  the  bay 
was  beginning  to  give  way ;  the  tallest  pieces,  forever  weakened 
by  the  collision  of  the  rest,  only  needed  a  sufficiently  heavy 
tempest  to  be  torn  away  and  to  become  icebergs.  Still,  Hatteras 
was  unwilling  to  wait  so  long  before  starting.  Since  it  was  to 
be  a  land  journey,  he  cared  very  little  whether  the  sea  was  open 


*'  Well,  I  've  brought  back  two  brothers."  —  Page  371. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


373 


or  not.  He  determined  to  start  June  25th  ;  meanwhile  all  the 
preparations  could  be  completed.  Johnson  and  Bell  put  the 
sledge  into  perfect  repair;  the  frame  was  strengthened  and  the 
runners  renewed.  The  travellers  intended  to  devote  to  their 
journey  the  few  weeks  of  good  weather  which  nature  allows  to 
these  northern  regions.  Their  sufferings  would  be  less  severe, 
the  obstacles  easier  to  overcome. 


A  few  days  before  their  departure,  June  20th,  the  ice  had  so 
many  free  passages,  that  they  were  able  to  make  a  trial  trip  on 
board  of  the  new  launch  as  far  as  Cape  Washington.  The  sea 
was  not  perfectly  free,  far  from  it ;  but  its  surface  was  not  solid, 
and  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  make  a  trip  on  foot  over 
the  ice-fields.  This  half-day's  sail  showed  the  good  sailing  quali- 
ties of  the  launch.  During  the  return  they  beheld  a  curious 
incident.  It  was  a  monstrous  bear  chasing  a  seal.  Fortunately 
the  former  was  so  busily  occupied,  that  he  did  not  see  the  launch, 
otherwise  he  would  certainly  have  pursued  it ;  he  kept  on  watch 
near  a  crevasse  in  the  ice-field,  into  which  the  seal  had  evidently 
plunged.  He  was  awaiting  his  reappearance  with  all  the  patience 
of  a  hunter,  or  rather  of  a  fisherman,  for  he  was  really  fishing. 
He  was  silent,  motionless,  without  any  sign  of  life.     Suddenly 


374 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


the  surface  of  the  water  was  agitated ;  the  seal  had  come  up  to 
breathe.  The  bear  crouched  low  upon  the  ice,  and  rounded  his 
two  paws  about  the  crevasse.  The  next  moment  the  seal  ap- 
peared, with  his  head  above  water;  but  he  had  not  time  to 
withdraw  it.  The  bear's  paws,  as  if  driven  by  a  spring,  were 
clashed  together,  strangling  the  animal  with  irresistible  force 
and  dragging  it  out  of  the  water. 

It  was  but  a  brief  struggle ;  the  seal  struggled  for  a  few  sec- 
onds, and  was  then  suffocated  on  the  breast  of  his  adversary,  who, 
dragging  him  away  easily,  in  spite  of  his  size,  and  springing 
lightly  from  one  piece  of  ice  to  another,  reached  land  and  disap- 
peared with  his  prey. 

"  A  pleasant  journey  ! "  shouted  Johnson ;  "  that  bear  has  got 
rather  too  many  paws  !  " 

The  launch  soon  reached  the  little  anchorage  Bell  had  made 
for  her  in  the  ice. 


Only  four  days  were  there  before  the  time  fixed  for  their  de- 
parture. Hatteras  hurried  on  the  last  preparations ;  he  was  in  a 
hurry  to  leave  New  America,  a  land  which  was  not  his,  and  which 
he  had  not  named  ;  he  did  not  feel  at  home. 

June  2 2d  they  began  to  carry  to  the  sledge  their  camp-mate- 


"  The  seal  struggled  for  a  few  seconds,  and  was  then  suffocated  on  the  breast 
of  his  adversary."  —  Page  374. 


THE  DESERT   OF  ICE.  375 

rial,  tent,  and  food.  They  carried  only  two  hundred  pounds  of 
salt  meat,  three  chests  of  preserved  meat  and  vegetables,  fifty 
pounds  of  pickles  and  lime-juice,  five  quarters  of  flour,  packets  of 
cresses  and  cochlearia  from  the  doctor's  garden ;  with  the  addi- 
tion of  two  hundred  pounds  of  powder,  the  instruments,  arms,  and 
personal  baggage,  the  launch,  Halkett-boat,  and  the  weight  of  the 
sledge  itself,  the  whole  weighed  fifteen  hundred  pounds,  —  a  heavy 
load  for  four  dogs,  especially  since,  unlike  the  Esquimaux,  who 
never  travel  more  than  four  days  in  succession,  they  had  none  to 
replace  them,  and  would  have  to  work  them  every  day.  But  the 
travellers  determined  to  aid  them  when  it  was  necessary,  and  they 
intended  to  proceed  by  easy  stages ;  the  distance  from  Victoria 
Bay  to  the  Pole  was  three  hundred  and  fifty-five  miles  at  the  out- 
side, and  going  twelve  miles  a  day  they  could  make  the  journey  in  a 
month.  Besides,  when  the  land  came  to  an  end,  the  launch 
would  enable  them  to  finish  the  journey  without  fatigue  for  dogs 
or  men. 

The  latter  were  well,  and  in  excellent  condition.  The  winter, 
although  severe,  ended  favorably  enough.  Each  one  had  followed 
the  doctor's  advice,  and  escaped  fi*om  the  diseases  common  in 
these  severe  climates.  In  fact,  they  had  grown  a  trifle  thinner, 
which  gave  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  to  Clawbonny ;  but  their 
bodies  were  inured  to  the  rigors  of  that  life,  and  these  men  were 
able  to  face  the  severest  attacks  of  cold  and  hunger  without 
succumbing.  And  then,  too,  they  were  going  to  the  end  of 
their  journey,  to  the  inaccessible  Pole,  after  which  their 
only  thought  would  be  of  returning.  The  sympathy  which 
bound  together  the  five  members  of  the  expedition  would  aid 
their  success  in  this  bold  trip,  and  no  one  doubted  of  their 
success. 

As  a  precaution,  the  doctor  had  urged  his  companions  to  pre- 
pare themselves  for  some  time  beforehand,  and  to  "train"  with 
much  care. 

"  My  friends,"  he  used  to  say,  "  I  don't  ask  you  to  imitate  the 
English  racers,  who  lose  eighteen  pounds  after  two  days'  training, 
and  twenty-five  after  five  days,  but  we  ought  to  do  something  to 
get  into  the  best  possible  condition  for  a  long  journey.     Now  the 


376         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

first  principle  of  training  is  to  get  rid  of  the  fat  on  both  horse  and 
jockey,  and  this  is  done  by  means  of  purging,  sweating,  and  vio- 
lent exercise.  These  gentlemen  know  they  will  lose  so  much  by 
medicine,  and  they  arrive  at  their  results  with  incredible  accu- 
racy ;  such  a  one  who  before  training  could  not  run  a  mile  with- 
out being  winded,  can  run  twenty-five  easily  after  it.  There  was 
a  certain  Townsend  who  ran  a  hundred  miles  in  twelve  hours 
without  stopping." 

"  A  good  result,"  answered  Johnson ;  "  and  although  we  are  not 
very  fat,  if  we  must  get  thinner  yet  —  " 

"  There  is  no  need  of  it,  Johnson ;  but  without  exaggerating,  it 
can't  be  denied  that  training  produces  good  effects;  it  strength- 
ens the  bones,  makes  the  muscles  more  elastic,  improves  the 
hearing  and  the  sight ;    so  let  us  not  forget  it." 


In  short,  whether  in  training  or  not,  the  travellers  were  ready 
June  23d ;  it  was  Sunday,  and  the  day  was  devoted  to  absolute 
rest. 

The  time  for  departure  drew  near,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Fort 
Providence  could  not  see  it  approach  without  a  certain  emotion. 
It  grieved  them  to  leave  this  snow-hut  which  had  served  so  w^ell 
to  protect  them ;  Victoria  Bay,  this  hospitable  shore  where  they 
had  spent  the  last  days  of  the  winter.     Would  they  find  these 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  377 

buildings  standing  when  they  returned?  Would  not  the  rays  of 
the  sun  melt  away  its  fragile  walls  1 

In  a  word,  they  had  passed  pleasant  hours  there.  The  doctor, 
at  the  evening  meal,  called  up  to  his  companions'  memory  touch- 
ing reminiscences,  and  he  did  not  forget  to  thank  Heaven  for  its 
evident  protection. 

At  last  the  hour  of  sleeping  came.  Each  one  went  to  bed 
early,  so  as  to  be  up  betimes.  Thus  passed  their  last  night  at 
Fort  Providence. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE   JOURNEY    NORTHWARD. 

At  dawn  the  next  day  Hatteras  gave  the  signal  for  departure. 
The  dogs  were  harnessed  to  the  sledge ;  since  they  were  well  fed 
and  had  thoroughly  rested,  after  a  comfortable  winter  there  was 
no  reason  for  their  not  being  of  great  service  during  the  summer. 
Hence  they  were  not  averse  to  being  put  into  harness. 

After  all,  these  Greenland  dogs  are  kind  beasts.  Their  wildness 
was  partly  gone ;  they  had  lost  their  likeness  to  the  wolf,  and 
had  become  more  like  Duke,  the  finished  model  of  the  canine 
race,  —  in  a  word,  they  were  becoming  civilized.  Duke  could 
certainly  claim  a  share  in  their  education ;  he  had  given  them 
lessons  and  an  example  in  good  manners.  In  his  quality  of 
Englishman,  and  so  punctilious  in  the  matter  of  cant,  he  was 
a  long  time  in  making  the  acquaintance  of  the  other  dogs,  who 
had  not  been  introduced  to  him,  and  in  fact  he  never  used  to 
speak  to  them ;  but  after  sharing  the  same  dangers  and  privations, 
they  gradually  grew  used  to  one  another.  Duke,  who  had  a  kind 
heart,  made  the  first  advances,  and  soon  all  the  dogs  were  friends. 
The  doctor  used  to  pet  the  Greenland  dogs,  and  Duke  saw  him  do 
it  without  jealousy.  The  men  were  in  equally  good  condition ; 
if  the  dogs  could  draw  well,  the  men  could  walk  well. 

They  left  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning ;  it  was  a  very  pleasant 
day.'     After  they  had  followed  the  line   of  the  bay  and  passed 


378  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

Cape  Washington,  Hatteras  gave  the  order  to  turn  northward ; 
by  seven  the  travellers  lost  sight  of  the  lighthouse  and  of  Fort 
Providence  in  the  south. 


The  journey  promised  well,  much  better  than  the  expedition 
begun  in  the  dead  of  winter  in  search  of  coal.  Hatteras  then  left 
behind  him,  on  board  of  the  ship,  mutiny  and  despair,  without 
being  certain  of  the  object  of  his  journey ;  he  left  a  crew  half 
dead  with  cold,  he  started  with  companions  who  were  weakened 
by  the  miseries  of  an  arctic  winter ;  he,  too,  eager  for  the  north, 
had  to  return  to  the  south  !  Now,  on  the  other  hand,  surrounded 
by  vigorous,  healthy  friends,  encouraged  and  aided  in  many  ways, 
he  was  starting  for  the  Pole,  the  object  of  his  whole  life!  No 
man  had  ever  been  nearer  acquiring  this  glory  for  himself  and 
his  country. 

Was  he  thinking  of  all  this,  which  was  so  naturally  inspired  by 
his  present  position'?  The  doctor  liked  to  think  so,  and  could 
hardly  doubt  it  when  he  he  saw  him  so  eager.  Clawbonny  re- 
joiced in  what  so  pleased  his  friend ;  and  since  the  reconciliation 
of  the  two  captains,  the  two  friends,  he  was  the  happiest  of  men ; 
for  hatred,  envy,  and  rivalry  were  passions  he  had  never  felt. 
What  would  be  the  issue  of  this  voyage  he  did  not  know ;  "but, 
at  any  rate,  it  began  well,  and  that  was  a  good  deal. 


'•  They  leti  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning."  —  Page  377. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  379 

The  western  shore  of  New  America  stretched  out  in  a  series  of 
bays  beyond  Cape  Washington ;  the  travellers,  to  avoid  this  long 
curve,  after  crossing  the  first  spurs  of  Mount  Bell,  turned  north- 
ward over  the  upper  plateaus.  This  was  a  great  saving  of  time ; 
Hatteras  was  anxious,  unless  prevented  by  seas  or  mountains,  to 
make  a  straight  line  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the  Pole 
from  Fort  Providence. 

Their  journey  was  easy ;  these  lofty  plains  were  covered  with 
deep  snow,  over  which  the  sledge  passed  easily,  and  the  men  in 
their  snow-shoes  walked  easily  and  rapidly. 

The  thermometer  stood  at  37°.  The  weather  was  not  absolutely 
settled  ;  at  one  moment  it  was  clear,  the  next  cloudy  :  but  neither 
cold  nor  showers  could  have  stopped  the  eager  party.  They  could 
be  followed  easily  by  the  compass ;  the  needle  was  more  active  as 
they  receded  from  the  magnetic  pole ;  it  is  true  that  it  turned  to 
the  opposite  direction  and  pointed  to  the  south,  while  they  were 
walking  northward ;  but  this  did  not  in  any  way  embarrass  them. 
Besides,  the  doctor  devised  a  simple  method  of  staking  out  the 
way  and  thereby  avoiding  perpetual  reference  to  the  compass ; 
when  once  they  had  got  their  bearings  by  some  object  two  or 
three  miles  to  the  north,  they  walked  till  they  reached  it,  when 
they  chose  another,  and  so  on.  In  this  way  they  had  a  straight 
road. 

In  the  first  two  days  they  made  twenty  miles  in  twelve  hours ; 
the  rest  of  the  time  was  devoted  to  meals  and  rest.  The  tent  was 
ample  protection  against  the  cold  when  they  were  sleeping.  The 
temperature  gradually  rose.  The  snow  melted  away  in  some 
places,  according  to  the  shape  of  the  ground,  while  in  others  it 
lay  in  large  patches.  Broad  pools  appeared  here  and  there,  often 
almost  as  large  as  lakes.  They  would  walk  in  up  to  their  waists 
very  often ;  but  they  only  laughed  at  it,  and  the  doctor  more 
than  any. 

"  Water  has  no  right  to  wet  ns  in  this  coimtry,"  he  used  to 
say  ;  "  it  ought  to  appear  only  as  a  solid,  or  a  gas  ;  as  to  its  being 
liquid,  it 's  absurd  !     Ice  or  vapor  will  do,  but  water  won't ! " 

They  did  not  forget  their  shooting,  for  thereby  they  got  fresh 
meat.     So  Altamont   and   Bell,   without   going   very  far   away. 


380 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


scoured  the  neighboring  ravines ;  they  brought  back  ptarmigan, 
geese,  and  a  few  gray  rabbits.  Gradually  these  animals  became 
very  shy  and  hard  to  approach.  Without  Duke  they  would 
often  have  found  it  hard  to  get  any  game.  Hatteras  advised 
them  not  to  go  off  farther  than  a  mile,  for  not  a  day  nor  an 
hour  was  to  be  lost,  and  he  could  not  count  on  more  than 
three  months  of  good  weather. 


Besides,  each  one  had  to  be  at  his  post  by  the  sledge  whenever 
a  hard  spot,  a  narrow  gorge,  or  steep  inclines  lay  in  the  path  ; 
then  each  one  helped  pull  or  push.  More  than  once  everything 
had  to  be  taken  off;  and  this  even  did  not  fully  protect  against 
shocks  and  damage,  which  Bell  repaired  as  Avell  as  he  could. 

The  third  day,  Wednesday,  June  26th,  they  came  across  a  vast 
lake,  still  frozen  by  reason  of  its  being  sheltered  from  the  sun ; 
the  ice  was  even  strong  enough  to  bear  both  men  and  sledge.  It 
was  a  solid  mirror  which  no  arctic  summers  had  melted,  as  was 
shown  by  the  fact  that  its  borders  were  surrounded  by  a  dry 
snow,  of  which  the  lower  layers  evidently  belonged  to  previous 
years. 

From  this  moment  the  land  grew  lower,  whence  the  doctor 
concluded  that  it  did  not  extend  very  far  to  the  north.     Besides, 


THE  DESERT  aF  ICE. 


381 


it  was  very  likely  that  New  America  was  merely  an  island,  and 
did  not  extend  to  the  Pole.  The  ground  grew  more  level;  in 
the  west  a  few  low  hills  could  be  seen  in  the  distance,  covered 
with  a  bluish  mist. 


So  far  they  had  experienced  no  hardships ;  they  had  suffered 
from  nothing  except  the  reflection  of  the  sun's  rays  upon  the 
snow,  which  could  easily  give  them  snow-blindness.  At  any 
other  time  they  would  have  travelled  by  night  to  avoid  this  in- 
convenience, but  then  there  was  no  night.  The  snow  was  fortu- 
nately melting  away,  and  it  was  much  less  brilliant  when  it  was 
about  turning  into  water. 

June  28th  the  temperature  arose  to  45";  this  was  accompanied 
with  heavy  rain,  which  the  travellers  endured  stoically,  even  with 
pleasure,  for  it  hastened  the  disappearance  of  the  snow.  They 
had  to  put  on  their  deer-skin  moccasins,  and  change  the  runners 
of  the  sledge.  Their  journey  was  delayed,  but  still  they  were 
advancing  without  any  serious  obstacles.  At  times  the  doctor 
would  pick  up  rounded  or  flat  stones  like  pebbles  worn  smooth  by 
the  waves,  and  then  he  thought  he  was  near  the  Polar  Sea :  but 
yet  the  plain  stretched  on  out  of  sight.  There  was  no  trace  of 
man,  no  hut,   no  cairn  nor  Esquimaux  snow-house ;  they  were 


382  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

evidently  the  first  to  set  foot  in  this  new  land.     The  Greenlanders 
never  had  gone  so  far,  and  yet  this  country  offered  plenty  of  game 


for  the  support  of  that  half-starved  people.  Sometimes  bears 
appeared  in  the  distance,  but  they  showed  no  signs  of  attacking ; 
afar   off  were  herds   of   musk-oxen    and   reindeer.     The   doctor 


"  On  the  29th  Bell  shot  a  fox,  and  Altamont  a  medium-sized  musk-ox  "  —  Page  383. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE, 


383 


would  have  liked  to  catch  some  of  the  latter  to  harness  to  the 
sledge  ;   but  they  were  timid,  and  not  to  be  caught  alive. 

The  29th,  Bell  shot  a  fox,  and  Altamont  was  lucky  enough  to 
bring  down  a  medium-sized  musk-ox,  after  giving  his  companions 
a  high  idea  of  his  bravery  and  skill ;  he  was  indeed  a  remarkable 
hunter,  and  so  much  admired  by  the  doctor.  The  ox  was  cut 
out,  and  gave  plenty  of  excellent  meat.  These  lucky  supplies 
were  always  well  received;  the  least  greedy  could  not  restrain 
their  joy  at  the  sight  of  the  meat.  The  doctor  laughed  at  him- 
self when  he  caught  himself  admiring  these  huge  joints. 

"  Let  us  not  be  afraid  to  eat  it,"  he  used  to  say  ;  "  a  good 
dinner  is  a  good  thing  in  these  expeditions." 

"Especially,"  said  Johnson,  "when  it  depends  on  a  better  or 
worse  shot." 

"You  are  right,  Johnson,"  replied  the  doctor;  "one  thinks 
less  of  one's  food  when  one  gets  a  regular  supply  from  the 
kitchen." 

The  30th,  the  country  became  unexpectedly  rugged,  as  if  it 


had  been  upheaved  by  some  volcanic  commotion ;  the  cones  and 
peaks  increased  indefinitely  in  number,  and  were  very  high.  A 
southeast  breeze  began  to  blow  with  violence,  and  soon  became 


384         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

a  real  hurricane.  It  rushed  across  the  snow-covered  rocks, 
among  the  ice-mountains,  which,  although  on  the  firm  land, 
took  the  form  of  hummocks  and  icebergs;  their  presence  on 
these  lofty  plateaus  could  not  be  explained  even  by  the  doctor, 
who  had  an  explanation  for  almost  everything.  Warm,  damp 
weather  succeeded  the  tempest ;  it  was  a  genuine  thaw ;  on  all 
sides  resounded  the  cracking  of  the  ice  amid  the  roar  of  the 
avalanches. 

The  travellers  carefully  avoided  the  base  of  these  hills  ;  they 
even  took  care  not  to  talk  aloud,  for  the  sound  of  the  voice 
could  shake  the  air  and  cause  accident.  They  were  witnesses 
of  frequent  and  terrible  avalanches  which  they  could  not  have 
foreseen.  In  fact,  the  main  peculiarity  of  polar  avalanches  is 
their  terrible  swiftness;  therein  they  differ  from  those  of  Swit- 
zerland and  Norway,  where  they  form  a  ball,  of  small  size  at 
first,  and  then,  by  adding  to  themselves  the  snow  and  rocks  in 
its  passage,  it  falls  with  increasing  swiftness,  destroys  forests 
and  villages,  but  taking  an  appreciable  time  in  its  course.  Now, 
it  is  otherwise  in  the  countries  where  arctic  cold  rages ;  the  fall 
of  the  block  of  ice  is  imexpected  and  startling ;  its  fall  is  almost 
instantaneous,  and  any  one  w^ho  saw  it  from  beneath  would  be 
certainly  crushed  by  it ;  the  cannon-ball  is  not  swifter,  nor  light- 
ning quicker;  it  starts,  falls,  and  crashes  down  in  a  single  mo- 
ment with  the  dreadful  roar  of  thunder,  and  with  dull  echoes. 

So  the  amazed  spectators  see  wonderful  changes  in  the  appear- 
ance of  the  country ;  the  mountain  becomes  a  plain  under  the 
action  of  a  sudden  thaw;  when  the  rain  has  filtered  into  the 
fissures  of  the  great  blocks  and  freezes  in  a  single  night,  it  breaks 
everything  by  its  irresistible  expansion,  which  is  more  powerful 
in  forming  ice  than  in  forming  vapor  :  the  phenomenon  takes 
place  with  terrible  swiftness. 

No  catastrophe,  fortunately,  threatened  the  sledge  and  its 
drivers ;  the  proper  precautions  were  taken,  and  every  danger 
avoided.  Besides,  this  rugged,  icy  country  was  not  of  great 
extent,  and  three  days  later,  July  3d,  the  travellers  were  on 
smoother  ground.  But  their  eyes  were  surprised  by  a  new 
phenomenon,  which  has  for  a  long  time  claimed  the  attention 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


385 


of  the  scientific  men  of  the  two  worlds.  It  was  this  :  the  party 
followed  a  line  of  hills  not  more  than  fifty  feet  high,  which 
appeared  to  run  on  several  miles,  and  their  eastern  side  w^as 
covered  with  red  snow. 

The  surprise  and  even  the  sort  of  alarm  which  the  sight  of 
this  crimson  curtain  gave  them  may  be  easily  imagined.  The 
doctor  hastened,  if  not  to  reassure,  at  least  to  instruct,  his  com- 
panions ;  he  was  familiar  with  this  red  snow  and  the  chemical 
analysis  made  of  it  by  Wollaston,  Candolle,  Bauer.  He  told  them 
this  red  snow  w^as  not  found  in  the  arctic  regions  alone,  but  in 
Switzerland  in  the  middle  of  the  Alps ;  De  Saussure  collected  a 
large  quantity  on  the  Breven  in  1760;  and  since  then  Captains 
Ross,  Sabine,  and  others  had  brought  some  back  from  their 
arctic  journeys. 


Altamont  asked  the  doctor  about  the  nature  of  this  extraor- 
dinary substance.  He  was  told  that  its  color  came  simply  from 
the  presence  of  organic  corpuscles.  For  a  long  time  it  was  a 
question  whether  these  corpuscles  were  animal  or  vegetable ; 
but  it  was  soon  ascertained  that  they  belonged  to  the  family  of 
microscopic  mushrooms,  of  the  genus  Uredo,  which  Bauer  pro- 
posed naming  Uredo  vivalis. 

17  Y 


386         THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

Then  the  doctor,  prying  into  the  snow  with  his  cane,  showed 
his  companions  that  the  scarlet  layer  was  only  nine  feet  deep, 
and  he  bade  them  calculate  how  many  of  these  mushrooms  there 
might  be  on  a  space  of  many  miles,  when  scientific  men  esti- 
mated forty-three  thousand  in  a  square  centimetre. 

This  coloring  probably  ran  back  to  a  remote  period,  for  the 
mushrooms  were  not  decomposed  by  either  evaporation  or  the 
melting  of  the  snow,  nor  was  their  color  altered. 

The  phenomenon,  although  explained,  was  no  less  strange. 
Red  is  a  rare  color  in  nature ;  the  reflection  of  the  sun's  rays  on 
this  crimson  surface  produced  strange  effects  ;  it  gave  the  sur- 
rounding objects,  men  and  animals,  a  brilliant  appearance,  as  if 
they  were  lighted  by  an  inward  flame  ;  and  when  the  snow  was 
melting,  streams  of  blood  seemed  to  be  flowing  beneath  the 
travellers'  feet. 

The  doctor,  who  had  not  been  able  to  examine  this  substance 
when  he  saw  it  on  crimson  cliffs  from  Baffin's  Bay,  here  examined 
it  at  his  ease,  and  gathered  several  bottlefuls  of  it. 

This  red  ground,  the  "Field  of  Blood,"  as  he  called  it,  took 
three  hours'  walk  to  pass  over,  and  then  the  country  resumed  its 
habitual  appearance. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

FOOTPRINTS    ON    THE    SNOW. 

July  4th  a  dense  fog  prevailed.  They  were  only  able  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  to  keep  a  straight  path ;  they  had  to  con- 
sult the  compass  every  moment.  Fortunately  there  Avas  no 
accident  in  the  darkness,  except  that  Bell  lost  his  snow-shoes, 
which  were  broken  against  a  projecting  rock. 

"  Well,  really,"  said  Johnson,  "  I  thought,  after  seeing  the 
Mersey  and  the  Thames,  that  I  knew  all  about  fogs,  but  I  see  I 
was  mistaken." 

"We  ought,"  answered  Bell,  "to  light  torches  as  is  done  at 
London  and  Liverpool." 


"The  masses  of  ice  took  the  forms  of  hummocks  and  icebergs."'  —  Page  384. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


387 


"Why  not?"  asked  the  doctor;  ''that's  a  good  idea;  it 
would  n't  light  up  the  road  much,  but  we  could  see  the  guide, 
and  follow  him  more  easily." 

"  But  what  shall  we  do  for  torches  1 " 

"  By  lighting  tow  dipped  in  alcohol,  and  fastening  to  the  end 
of  walking-sticks.'* 

"  Good  ! "  said  Johnson ;  "  and  we  shall  soon  have  it  ready." 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  the  little  band  was  walking  along 
with  torches  faintly  lighting  up  the  general  gloom. 

But  if  they  went  straighter,  they  did  not  go  quicker,  and  the 
fog  lasted  till  July  6th;  the  earth  being  cold  then,  a  blast  of 
north-wind  carried  away  all  the  mist  as  if  it  had  been  rags. 
Soon  the  doctor  took  an  observation,  and  ascertained  that  mean- 
while they  had  not  made  eight  miles  a  day. 


■^y/^^/fANf^ 


The  6th,  they  made  an  effort  to  make  up  for  lost  time,  and 
they  set  out  early.  Altamont  and  Bell  were  ahead,  choosing  the 
way  and  looking  out  for  game.  Duke  was  with  them.  The  weather, 
with  its  surprising  fickleness,  had  become  very  clear  and  dry; 
and  although  the  guides  were  two  miles  from  the  sledge,  the 
doctor  did  not  miss  one  of  their  movements.  He  was  conse- 
quently very  much   startled   to   see   them   stop   suddenly,   and 


388 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


remain  in  a  position  of  surprise ;  they  seemed  to  be  gazing  into 
the  distance,  as  if  scanning  the  horizon.  Then  they  bent  down 
to  the  ground  and  seemed  to  be  examining  it  closely,  and  they 
arose  in  evident  amazement.  Bell  seemed  to  wish  to  push  on, 
but  Altamont  held  him  back. 

''What  can  they  be  doing T'  asked  the  doctor  of  Johnson. 

"  I  know  no  more  than  you,  Doctor ;  I  don't  understand  their 
gestures." 

"  They  have  found  the  track  of  some  animals,"  answered  Hat- 
teras. 

"  That 's  not  it,"  said  the  doctor. 

"Why  not r' 

"  Because  Duke  would  bark." 


''  Still,  they  've  seen  marks  of  some  sort." 
"Let  us  go  on,"  said  Hatteras;  "we  shall  soon  know." 
Johnson  urged  on  the  dogs,  w^ho  quickened  their  pace. 
In  twenty  minutes  the  five  w^ere  together,  and  Hatteras,  the 
doctor,  and  Johnson  were  as  much  surprised  as  Bell  and  Alta- 
mont. 

There  were  in  the  snow  indubitable  traces  of  men,  as  fresh  as 
if  they  had  just  been  made. 


""-^^^^^^ 


On  all  sides  resounded  the  crackinp;  of  the  ice  amid  the  roar  of  the 
avalanches."  —  Page  384. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  389 

"They  are  Esquimaux,"  said  Hatteras. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  doctor,  "  there  is  no  doubt  of  that ! " 

"  You  think  so  'i "  said  Altamont. 

"Without  any  doubt." 

"Well,  and  this  marki"  continued  Altamont,  pointing  to 
another  print,  which  was  often  repeated. 

"That  oner' 

"  Do  you  think  it  was  made  by  an  Esquimau  1 " 

The  doctor  examined  it  carefully,  and  was  stupefied.  The  print 
of  a  European  shoe,  with  nails,  sole,  and  heel,  was  clearly  stamped 
in  the  snow.  There  could  be  no  further  doubt ;  a  man,  a  stranger, 
had  been  there. 

"  Europeans  here  !  "  cried  Hatteras. 

"  Evidently,"  said  Johnson. 

"  And  still,"  said  the  doctor,  "  it  is  so  unlikely,  that  we  ought 
to  look  twice  before  being  sure." 

Thereupon  he  looked  twice,  three  times,  at  the  print,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  acknowledge  its  extraordinary  origin. 

De  Foe's  hero  was  not  more  amazed  when  he  saw  the  footprint 
on  the  sand  of  his  island;  but  if  he  was  afraid,  Hatteras  was 
simply  angry.     A  European  so  near  the  Pole ! 

They  pushed  on  to  examine  the  footprints ;  for  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  they  were  continually  repeated,  mingled  with  marks  of  moc- 
casins ;  then  they  turned  to  the  west.  W^hen  they  had  reached 
this  point  they  consulted  as  to  whether  they  should  follow  them 
any  farther. 

"No,"  said  Hatteras.     "  Let  us  go  on  —  " 

He  was  interrupted  by  an  exclamation  of  the  doctor,  who  had 
just  picked  up  on  the  snow  an  object  even  more  convincing,  and 
of  the  origin  of  which  there  could  be  no  doubt.  It  was  the 
object-glass  of  a  pocket  telescope. 

"Now,"  he  said,  "we  can't  doubt  that  there  is  a  stanger 
here  —  " 

"  Forward  ! "  cried  Hatteras. 

He  uttered  this  word  so  sharply  that  each  one  obeyed,  and  the 
sledge  resumed  its  monotonous  progress. 

They  all  scanned  the  horizon  attentively,  except  Hatteras,  who 


390  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

was  filled  with  wrath  and  did  not  care  to  see  anything.  Still, 
since  they  ran  the  risk  of  coming  across  a  band  of  travellers,  they 
had  to  take  precautions ;  it  was  very  disappointing  to  see  any  one 
ahead  of  them  on  the  route.  The  doctor,  although  not  as  angry 
as  Hatteras,  w^as  somewhat  vexed,  in  spite  of  his  usual  philoso- 
phy. Altamont  seemed  equally  annoyed ;  Johnson  and  Bell  mut- 
tered threatening  words  between  their  teeth. 

"  Come,"  said  the  doctor,  "  let  us  take  heart  against  our  bad 
fortune." 

"We  must  confess,"  said  Johnson,  without  being  heard  by 
Altamont,  "that  if  we  find  the  place  taken,  it  would  disgust  us 
with  journeying  to  the  Pole." 

"  And  yet,"  answered  Bell,  "  there  is  no  possibility  of  doubt- 
ing —  " 

" No,"  retorted  the  doctor ;  "'I  turn  it  all  over  in  vain,  and  say 
it  is  improbable,  impossible  ;  I  have  to  give  it  up.  This  shoe  wcs 
not  pressed  into  the  snow  without  being  at  the  end  of  a  leg,  and 
without  the  leg  being  attached  to  a  human  body.  I  could  forgive 
Esquimaux,  but  a  European  !  " 

"  The  fact  is,"  answered  Johnson,  "  that  if  we  are  going  to  find 
all  the  rooms  taken  in  the  hotel  of  the  end  of  the  world,  it  would 
be  annoying." 

"  Very  annoying,"  said  Altamont. 

"  Well,  w^e  shall  see,"  said  the  doctor. 

And  they  pushed  on.  The  day  ended  without  any  new  fact  to 
indicate  the  presence  of  strangers  in  this  part  of  New  America, 
and  they  at  last  encamped  for  the  evening. 

A  rather  strong  wind  from  the  south  had  sprung  up,  and 
obliged  them  to  seek  a  secure  shelter  for  their  tent  in  the  bottom 
of  a  ravine.  The  sky  was  threatening ;  long  clouds  passed  rapidly 
through  the  air ;  they  passed  near  the  ground,  and  so  quickly  that 
the  eye  could  hardly  follow  them.  At  times  some  of  the  mist 
touched  the  ground,  and  the  tent  resisted  with  difficulty  the  vio- 
lence of  the  hurricane. 

"  It 's  going  to  be  a  nasty  night,"  said  Johnson,  after  suj^per. 

"  It  won't  be  cold,  but  stormy,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  let  us 
take  precautions,  and  make  the  tent  firm  with  large  stones." 


We  ought,"  answered  Bell,  "to  light  torches,  as  is  done  at  London  and  Liver- 
pool."— Page  386. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  391 

"  You  are  right,  Doctor ;  if  the  wind  should  carry  away  the  can- 
vas, Heaven  alone  knows  where  we  should  find  it  again." 

Hence  they  took  every  precaution  against  such  a  danger,  and 
the  wearied  travellers  lay  down  to  sleep.  But  they  found  it  im- 
possible. The  terapest  was  loose,  and  hastened  northward  with 
incomparable  violence  ;  the  clouds  were  whirling  about  like  steam 
which  has  just  escaped  from  a  boiler ;  the  last  avalanches,  under 
the  force  of  the  hurricane,  fell  into  the  ravines,  and  their  dull 
echoes  were  distinctly  heard ;  the  air  seemed  to  be  struggling 
with  the  water,  and  fire  alone  was  absent  from  this  contest  of  the 
elements. 

Amid  the  general  tumult  their  ears  distinguished  separate 
sounds,  not  the  crash  of  heavy  falling  bodies,  but  the  distinct 
cracking  of  bodies  breaking ;  *a  clear  snap  was  frequently  heard, 
like  breaking  steel,  amid  the  roar  of  the  tempest.  These  last 
sounds  were  evidently  avalanches  torn  off  by  the  gusts,  but  the 
doctor  could  not  explain  the  others.  In  the  few  moments  of  anx- 
ious silence,  when  the  hurricane  seemed  to  be  taking  breath  in 
order  to  blow  with  greater  violence,  the  travellers  exchanged  their 
suppositions. 

"  There  is  a  sound  of  crashing,"  said  the  doctor,  "  as  if  icebergs 
and  ice-fields  were  being  blown  against  one  another." 

"  Yes,"  answered  Altamont ;  "  one  would  say  the  whole  crust 
of  the  globe  was  falling  in.     Say,  did  you  hear  that  1 " 

"  If  we  were  near  the  sea,"  the  doctor  went  on,  "  I  should  think 
it  was  ice  breaking." 

"In  fact,"  said  Johnson,  "there  is  no  other  explanation  pos- 
sible." 

"  Can  we  have  reached  the  coast  ] "  asked  Hatteras. 

"  It  's  not  impossible,"  answered  the  doctor.  "  Hold  on,"  he 
said,  after  a  very  distinct  sound ;  "  should  n't  you  say  that  was 
the  crashing  of  ice  %     We  may  be  very  near  the  ocean." 

"  If  it  is,"  continued  Hatteras,  "  I  should  not  be  afraid  to  go 
across  the  ice-fields." 

"0,"  said  the  doctor,  *'they  must  be  broken  by  such  a  tempest! 
We  shall  see  to-morrow.  However  that  may  be,  if  any  men  have 
to  travel  in  such  a  night  as  this,  I  pity  them." 


332  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

The  hurricane  raged  ten  hours  without  cessation,  and  no  one 
of  those  in  the  tent  had  a  moment's  sleep ;  the  night  passed  in 
profound  uneasiness.  In  fact,  under  such  circumstances,  every 
new  incident,  a  tempest,  an  avalanche,  might  bring  serious  con- 
sequences. The  doctor  would  gladly  have  gone  out  to  reconnoitre, 
but  how  could  he  with  such  a  wind  raging '? 

Fortunately  the  hurricane  grew  less  violent  early  the  next  day ; 
they  could  leave  the  tent  which  had  resisted  so  sturdily.  The 
doctor,  Hatteras,  and  Johnson  went  to  a  hill  about  three  hundred 
feet  high,  which  they  ascended  without  difficulty.  Their  eyes 
beheld  an  entirely  altered  country,  composed  of  bare  rocks, 
sharp  ridges  entirely  clear  of  ice.  It  was  summer  succeeding 
winter,  which  had  been  driven  away  by  the  tempest ;  the  snow 
had  been  blown  away  by  the  wind  before  it  could  melt,  and  the 
barren  soil  reappeared. 

But  Hatteras's  glances  were  all  turned  towards  the  north, 
where  the  horizon  appeared  to  be  hidden  by  dark  mist. 

"  That  may  be  the  effect  of  the  ocean,"  said  the  doctor. 

"  You  are  right,"  said  Hatteras;  "  the  sea  must  be  there." 

"  That 's  what  we  call  the  blink  of  the  water,"  said  Johnson. 

"  Exactly,"  said  the  doctor. 

"  Well,  let  us  start,"  said  Hatteras,  "  and  push  on  to  this  new 
ocean." 

"  That  rejoices  my  heart,"  said  Clawbonny  to  the  captain. 

"  Certainly,"  was  the  enthusiastic  answer.  '•'  Soon  we  shall 
have  reached  the  Pole  !  and  does  n't  the  prospect  delight  you, 
too.  Doctor  1" 

"  It  does.  I  am  always  happy,  and  especially  about  the  happi- 
ness of  others  ! " 

The  three  Englishmen  returned  to  the  ravine ;  the  sledge  was 
made  ready,  and  they  left  the  camp  and  resumed  their  march. 
Each  one  dreaded  finding  new  tracks,  but  all  the  rest  of  the  way 
they  saw  no  trace  of  any  human  being.  Three  hours  later  they 
reached  the  coast. 

"  The  sea !  the  sea  !  "  they  all  shouted. 

'•'  And  the  open  sea  !  "  cried  the  captain. 

It  was  iQw  o'clock  in  the  mornin;^:. 


The  hut  was  pitched  in  a  ravine  for  shelter.  —  Page  390, 


THE  DESERT   OF  ICE.  393 

In  ftict,  the  hurricane  had  cleared  up  the  polar  basin;  the 
shattered  ice  was  floating  away  in  every  direction ;  the  largest 
pieces,  forming  icebergs,  had  just  weighed  anchor  and  were  sailing 
on  the  open  sea.  The  wind  had  made  a  harsh  attack  upon  the 
field.  Fragments  of  ice  covered  the  surrounding  rocks.  The  lit- 
tle which  was  left  of  the  ice-field  seemed  very  soft ;  on  the  rocks 
were  large  pieces  of  sea-weed.  The  ocean  stretched  beyond  the 
line  of  vision,  with  no  island  or  new  land  peering  above  the  horizon. 

In  the  east  and  west  were  two  capes  gently  sloping  to  the 
water;  at  their  end  the  sea  was  breaking,  and  the  wind  was 
carrying  a  slight  foam.  The  land  of  New  America  thus  died 
away  in  the  Polar  Ocean,  quietly  and  gently.  It  rounded  into  an 
open  bay,  with  roadstead  enclosed  by  the  two  promontories.  In 
the  middle  a  rock  made  a  little  natural  harbor,  sheltered  against 
three  points  of  the  compass ;  it  ran  back  into  the  land  in  the 
broad  bed  of  a  stream,  through  which  ran  down  the  melted  snows 
of  winter,  now  forming  a  perfect  torrent. 

Hatteras,  after  noticing  the  outline  of  the  coast,  resolved  to 
make  the  preparations  for  departure  that  very  day,  to  launch  the 
boat,  to  put  the  unloaded  sledge  on  board  for  future  excursions. 
That  took  all  day ;  then  the  tent  was  raised,  and  after  a  comforta- 
ble meal  work  began.  Meanwhile  the  doctor  took  out  his  instru- 
ments to  take  an  observation  and  determine  the  position  of  a  part 
of  the  bay.  Hatteras  hurried  on  the  work ;  he  was  anxious  to 
start ;  he  wanted  to  leave  the  land,  and  to  be  in  advance  in  case 
any  others  should  reach  the  sea. 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  Johnson  and  Bell  had  nothing  to 
do  but  to  fold  their  arms.  The  launch  was  rocking  gently  in  her 
little  harbor,  with  her  mast  set,  her  jib  lowered,  and  her  foresail 
in  the  brails ;  the  provisions  and  most  of  the  things  on  the  sledge 
had  been  put  on  board ;  only  the  tent  and  a  little  of  the  camping 
material  remained  to  be  put  on  board  the  next  day.  The  doctor 
found  all  these  preparations  complete  on  his  return.  When  he 
saw  the  launch  quietly  sheltered  from  the  wind,  it  occurred  to 
him  to  give  a  name  to  the  little  harbor,  and  he  proposed  that  of 
Altamont.  This  proposition  was  unanimously  agreed  to.  So  it 
was  named  Altamont  Harbor. 
17* 


394  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

According  to  the  doctor's  calculations,  it  lay  in  latitude  87"  5', 
and  longitude  118°  35'  E.  of  Greenwich ;  that  is  to  say,  less  than 
three  degrees  from  the  Pole.  The  band  had  gone  more  than  two 
hundred  miles  from  Victoria  Bay  to  Altamont  Harbor, 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

THE    OPEN    SEA. 

The  next  morning  Johnson  and  Bell  set  about  carrying  on 
board  the  camping  material.  At  eight  o'clock  all  the  j^reparations 
for  departure  were  complete.  At  the  moment  of  starting  the 
doctor's  thoughts  returned  to  the  footprints  they  had  seen. 
Were  these  men  trying  to  gain  the  North  1  Had  they  any  means 
of  crossing  the  Polar  Sea  !  Should  they  meet  them  again  1  For 
three  days  they  had  come  across  no  trace  of  the  travellers,  and 
certainly,  whoever  they  were,  they  could  not  have  reached  Alta- 
mont Harbor.  That  was  a  place  which  they  were  the  first  to 
set  foot  in.  But  the  doctor,  who  was  harassed  by  his  thoughts, 
wanted  to  take  a  last  view  of  the  country,  and  he  ascended  a 
little  hill  about  a  hundred  feet  high,  whence  he  had  a  distant 
view  to  the  south. 

When  he  had  reached  the  top,  he  put  his  glass  to  his  eyes. 
Great  was  his  surprise  when  he  found  he  could  not  see  anything, 
either  at  a  distance  on  the  plains,  or  within  a  few  feet  of  him. 
This  seemed  very  odd ;  he  made  another  examination,  and  at  last 
he  looked  at  the  glass,  —  the  object-glass  was  missing. 

"  The  object-glass  !  "  he  cried. 

The  sudden  revelation  may  be  imagined ;  he  uttered  a  cry  so 
loud  as  to  be  heard  by  his  companions,  and  they  were  much 
astonished  at  seeing  him  running  down  the  hill. 

'*  Well,  what 's  the  matter  now  %  "  asked  Johnson. 

The  doctor  was  out  of  breath,  and  unable  to  speak.  At  length 
he  managed  to  bring  out,  — - 

*'  The  footprints  !  —  the  expedition  !  —  " 


•'  riiey  c.iiubed  a  h...  winch  ccmiiiaiided  a  wide  viesv  "  —  P, 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


395 


"  Well,  what  % "  said  Hatteras ;  "  are  they  here  ] " 
"  No,  no  !  "  resumed  the  doctor,  —  "  the  object-glass,  mine  !  " 
And  he  showed  his  own  glass. 
"  0,  ho  !  "  cried  the  American,  "  so  you  lost  —  " 
''  Yes  1  " 

"  But  then  the  footprints  —  " 

"  Our  own  ! "  cried  the  doctor.     "  We  lost  our  way  in  the  fog  ! 
We  went  around  in  a  circle,  and  came  across  our  own  footprints ! " 


"  But  the  print  of  the  shoes  *?  "  asked  Hatteras. 

"  Bell's,  you  know,  who  walked  all  day  in  the  snow  after 
breaking  his  snow-shoes." 

"  That 's  true,"  said  Bell. 

Their  mistake  was  so  clear,  that  they  all,  except  Hatteras, 
burst  out  laughing,  and  he  was  none  the  less  pleased  at  the  dis- 
covery. 

"  We  were  stupid  enough,"  said  the  doctor,  when  they  had 
stopped  laughing.  **  What  good  guesses  we  made !  Strangers  up 
here  !  Really,  we  ought  to  think  before  speaking.  Well,  since 
we  are  easy  on  tliis  point,  we  can't  do  better  than  start." 

"  Forward  !  "  said  Hatteras. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  each  one  had  taken  his  place  on 


396  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS, 

board  of  the  launch,  which  sailed  out  of  Altamont  Harbor  under 
mainsail  and  jib.  This  voyage  began  Wednesday,  July  10th; 
they  were  then  very  near  the  Pole,  exactly  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  miles  from  it.  However  small  the  land  might  be  at 
that  point  of  the  globe,  the  voyage  would  certainly  be  a  short 
one.  The  wind  was  light,  but  fair.  The  thermometer  stood  at 
50°  ;  it  was  really  warm. 

The  launch  had  not  been  injured  by  the  journey  on  the  sledge; 
it  was  in  perfect  order,  and  sailed  easily.  Johnson  was  at  the 
helm;  the  doctor.  Bell,  and  Altamont  were  lying  as  best  they 
might  among  the  load,  partly  on  deck,  partly  below. 

Hatteras  stood  forward,  with  his  eyes  turned  to  the  mysterious 
point,  which  attracted  him  with  an  irresistible  power,  as  the 
magnetic  pole  attracts  the  needle.  If  there  should  be  any  land, 
he  wanted  to  be  the  first  to  see  it.  This  honor  really  belonged  to 
him.  He  noticed,  besides,  that  the  surf^ice  of  the  Polar  Sea  was 
covered  with  short  waves,  like  those  of  land  locked  seas.  This  he 
considered  a  proof  of  the  nearness  of  the  opposite  shore,  and  the 
doctor  shared  his  opinion. 

Hatteras's  desire  to  find  land  at  the  North  Pole  is  perfectly 
comprehensible.  His  disappointment  would  have  been  great  if 
the  uncertain  sea  covered  the  place  where  he  wanted  to  find  a 
piece  of  land,  no  matter  how  small !  In  fact,  how  could  he  give 
a  special  name  to  an  uncertain  portion  of  the  sea  1  How  plant 
the  flag  of  his  country  among  the  waves  1  How  take  possession,  in 
the  name  of  her  Gracious  Majesty,  of  the  liquid  element  % 

So  Hatteras,  compass  in  hand,  gazed  steadily  at  the  north. 
There  was  nothing  that  he  could  see  between  him  and  the  ho- 
rizon, where  the  line  of  the  blue  water  met  the  blue  sky.  A  few 
floating  icebergs  seemed  to  be  leaving  the  way  free  for  these  bold 
sailors.  The  appearance  of  this  region  was  singularly  strange. 
Was  this  impression  simply  the  result  of  the  nervous  excitement 
of  the  travellers'?  It  is  hard  to  say.  Still,  the  doctor  in  his 
journal  has  described  the  singular  appearance  of  the  ocean ;  he 
spoke  of  it  as  Penny  did,  according  to  whom  these  countries 
present  an  appearance  "offering  the  most  striking  contrast  of  a 
sea  filled  with  millions  of  living  creatures." 


KW^ 


Three  hours  later  they  reached  the  coast.     '  The  sea  !  the  sea  ! '  they  all 
shouted."  —  Page  3^2. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


397 


The  sea,  with  its  various  colors,  appeared  strangely  transparent, 
and  endowed  with  a  wonderful  dispersive  quality,  as  if  it  had  been 
made  with  carburet  of  sulphur.  This  clearness  let  them  see 
down  into  immeasurable  depths ;  it  seemed  as  if  the  sea  were  lit 
up  like  a  large  aquarium ;  probably  some  electric  phenomenon  at 
the  bottom  of  the  sea  lit  it  up.  So  the  launch  seemed  hung  in 
a  bottomless  abyss. 


On  the  surface  of  the  water  the  birds  were  flying  in  large 
flocks,  like  thick  clouds  big  with  a  storm.  Aquatic  birds  of  all 
sorts  were  there,  from  the  albatross  which  is  common  to  the 
south,  to  the  penguin  of  the  arctic  seas,  but  of  enormous  size. 
Their  cries  were  deafening.  In  considering  them  the  doctor  found 
his  knowledge  of  natural  history  too  scanty ;  many  of  the  names 
escaped  him,  and  he  found  himself  bowing  his  head  when  their 
wings  beat  the  air. 

Some  of  these  large  birds  measured  twenty  feet  from  tip  to  tip; 
they  covered  the  whole  launch  with  their  expanded  wings ;  and 
there  were  legions  of  these  birds,  of  which  the  names  had  never 
appeared  in  the  London  "  Index  Ornithologus."  The  doctor  was 
dejected  and  stupefied  at  finding  his  science  so  faulty.  Then, 
when  his  glance  fell  from  the  wonders  of  the  air  to  the  calm  sur- 
face of  the  ocean,  he  saw  no  less  astonishing  productions  of  the 


398  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS, 

animal  kingdom,  among  others,  medusae  thirty  feet  broad ;  they 
served  as  food  for  the  other  fish,  and  they  floated  like  islands 
amid  the  sea-weed.  What  a  difference  from  the  microscopic  rae- 
dusse  observed  in  the  seas  of  Greenland  by  Scoresby,  and  of 
which  that  explorer  estimated  the  number  at  twenty-three  tril- 
lions eight  hundred  and  ninety-eight  billions  of  millions  in  a 
space  of  two  square  miles  ! 

Then  the  eye  glancing  down  into  the  transparent  water,  the 
sight  was  equally  strange,  so  full  was  it  of  fishes ;  sometimes 
the  animals  were  swimming  about  below,  and  the  eye  saw  them 
gradually  disappearing,  and  fading  away  like  spectres ;  then  they 
would  leave  the  lower  layers  and  rise  to  the  surface.  The  mon- 
sters seemed  in  no  way  alarmed  at  the  presence  of  the  launch  ; 
they  even  passed  near  it,  rubbing  their  fins  against  it ;  this,  which 
would  have  alarmed  whalers,  did  not  disturb  these  men,  and  yet 
the  sea-monsters  were  very  large. 

Young  sea-calves  played  about  them  ;  the  sword-fish,  with  its 
long,  narrow,  conical  sword,  with  which  it  cleaves  the  ice,  was 
chasing  the  more  timid  cetacea  \  numberless  spouting  whales 
were  clearly  to  be  heard.  The  sword-caper,  with  its  delicate  tail 
and  large  caudal  fins,  swam  with  incomprehensible  quickness, 
feeding  on  smaller  animals,  such  as  the  cod,  as  swift  as  itself; 
while  the  white  whale,  which  is  more  inactive,  swallowed  peace- 
fully the  tranquil,  lazy  mollusks. 

Farther  down  were  Greenland  anamaks,  long  and  dark ;  huge 
sperm-whales,  swimming  in  the  midst  of  ambergris,  in  which  took 
place  thomeric  battles  that  reddened  the  ocean  for  many  miles 
around ;  the  great  Labrador  tegusik.  Sharp-backed  dolphins,  the 
whole  family  of  seals  and  walruses,  sea-dogs,  horses  and  bears, 
lions  and  elephants,  seemed  to  be  feeding  on  the  rich  pastures  ; 
and  the  doctor  admired  the  numberless  animals,  as  he  would  have 
done  the  Crustacea  in  the  crystal  basins  of  the  zoological  garden. 

What  beauty,  variety,  and  power  in  nature  !  How  strange  and 
wonderful  everything  seemed  in  the  polar  regions  ! 

The  air  acquired  an  unnatural  purity  ;  one  would  have  said  it 
was  full  of  oxygen ;  the  explorers  breathed  with  delight  this  air, 
which  filled  them  with  fresher  life ;   without  taking  account  of 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  399 

the  result,  they  were,  so  to  speak,  exposed  to  a  real  consuming 
fire,  of  which  one  can  give  no  idea,  not  even  a  feeble  one.  Their 
emotions,  their  breathing  and  digestion,  were  endowed  with  super- 
human energy;  their  ideas  became  more  excited;  they  lived  a 
whole  day  in  an  hour. 

Through  all  these  wonders  the  launch  pushed  on  before  a 
moderate  breeze,  occasionally  feeling  the  air  moved  by  the  alba- 
troses'  wings. 

Towards  evening,  the  coast  of  New  America  disappeared  be- 
neath the  horizon.  In  the  temperate  zones,  as  well  as  at  the 
equator,  night  falls ;  but  here  the  sun  simply  described  a  circle 
parallel  to  the  line  of  the  horizon.  The  launch,  bathed  in  its 
oblique  rays,  could  not  lose  sight  of  it. 

The  animate  beings  of  these  regions  seemed  to  know  the  ap- 
proach of  evening  as  truly  as  if  the  sun  had  set ;  birds,  fish, 
cetacea,  all  disappeared.  Whither  1  To  the  depths  of  the  ocean'? 
Who  could  say  %  But  soon  total  silence  succeeded  to  their  cries, 
and  the  sound  of  their  passage  through  the  water ;  the  sea  grew 
calmer  and  calmer,  and  night  retained  its  gentle  peace  even  be- 
neath the  glowing  sun. 

Since  leaving  Altamont  Harbor  the  launch  had  made  one 
degree  to  the  north;  the  next  day  nothing- appeared  on  the 
horizon,  neither  projecting  peaks  nor  those  vague  signs  by  which 
sailors  detect  their  nearness  to  land. 

The  wind  was  good,  but  not  strong,  the  sea  not  high ;  the  birds 
and  fish  came  as  thick  as  the  day  before  ;  the  doctor,  leaning  over 
the  gunwale,  could  see  the  cetacea  rising  slowly  to  the  surface  ;  a 
few  icebergs  and  scattered  pieces  of  ice  alone  broke  the  monotony 
of  the  ocean. 

But  the  ice  grew  rarer,  and  was  not  enough  to  interfere  with 
the  boat.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  launch  was  then  ten 
degrees  above  the  pole  of  cold ;  and  as  to  the  parallels  of  temper- 
ature, they  might  as  well  have  been  ten  degrees  to  the  other  side. 
There  was  nothing  surprising  in  the  sea  being  open  at  this  epoch, 
as  it  must  have  been  at  Disco  Island  in  Baffin's  Bay.  So  a  sailing 
vessel  would  have  plenty  of  sailing  room  in  the  summer  months. 

This  observation  had  a  great  practical  importance ;  in  fact,  if 


400 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 


whalers  can  ever  get  to  the  polar  basin,  either  hj  the  seas  of 
North  America  or  those  of  the  north  of  Asia,  they  are  sure 
of  getting  full  cargoes,  for  this  part  of  the  ocean  seems  to  be 
the  universal  fishing-pond,  the  general  reservoir  of  whales,  seals, 
and  all  marine  animals.  At  noon  the  line  of  the  horizon  was 
still  unbroken ;  the  doctor  began  to  doubt  of  the  existence  of  a 
continent  in  so  high  latitudes. 


Still,  as  he  reflected,  he  was  compelled  to  beli-eve  in  the  exist- 
ence of  an  arctic  continent ;  in  fact,  at  the  creation  of  the  world, 
after  the  cooling  of  the  terrestrial  crust,  the  waters  formed  by 
the  condensation  of  the  atmospheric  vapor  were  compelled  to 
obey  the  centrifugal  force,  to  fly  to  the  equator  and  leave  the 
motionless  extremities  of  the  globe.  Hence  the  necessary  emer- 
sion of  the  countries  near  the  Pole.  The  doctor  considered  this 
reasoning  very  just.     And  so  it  seemed  to  Hatteras. 

Hence  the  captain  still  tried  to  pierce  the  mists  of  the  horizon. 
His  glass  never  left  his  eyes.  In  the  color  of  the  water,  the 
shape  of  the  waves,  the  direction  of  the  wind,  he  tried  to  find 
traces  of  neighboring  land.  His  head  was  bent  forward,  and  even 
one  who  did  not  know  his  thoughts  would  have  admired,  so  full 
was  his  attitude  of  energetic  desire  and  anxious  interrogation. 


I 


"  The  launch  was  rocking  gently  in  her  little  harbor."  —  Page  393. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  401 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

THE    APPROACH    TO    THE    POLE. 

The  time  flew  by  in  this  uncertainty.  Nothing  appeared  on 
the  sharply  defined  circle  of  the  sea;  nothing  was  to  be  seen 
save  sky  and  sea,  —  not  one  of  those  floating  land-plants  which 
rejoiced  the  heart  of  Christopher  Columbus  as  he  was  about  to 
discover  America.  Hatteras  was  still  gazing.  At  length,  at 
about  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  a  shapeless  vapor  appeared  at 
a  little  height  above  the  level  of  the  sea ;  it  looked  like  a  puff 
of  smoke ;  the  sky  was  perfectly  cold,  so  this  vapor  was  no  cloud ; 
it  would  keep  appearing  and  disappearing,  as  if  it  were  in  com- 
motion. Hatteras  was  the  first  to  detect  this  phenomenon ;  he 
examined  it  with  his  glass  for  a  whole  hour. 

Suddenly,  some  sure  sign  apparently  occurred  to  him,  for  he 
stretched  out  his  arms  to  the  horizon  and  cried  in  a  loud  voice,  — 

"  Land,  ho  !  " 

At  these  words  each  one  sprang  to  his  feet  as  if  moved  by 
electricity.     A  sort  of  smoke  was  clearly  rising  above  the  sea. 

"  I  see  it,"  cried  the  doctor. 

"  Yes  !  certainly  !  —  yes  !  "  said  Johnson. 

"  It 's  a  cloud,"  said  Altamont. 

"  It 's  land  !  "  answered  Hatteras,  as  if  perfectly  convinced. 

But,  as  often  happens  with  objects  that  are  indistinct  in  the 
distance,  the  point  they  had  been  looking  at  seemed  to  have 
disappeared.  At  length  they  found  it  again,  and  the  doctor  even 
fancied  that  he  could  see  a  swift  light  twenty  or  twenty-five 
miles  to  the  north. 

"  It 's  a  volcano  !  "  he  cried. 

"  A  volcano  1 "  said  Altamont. 

"  Without  doubt." 

"  At  this  high  latitude  1 " 

"  And  why  not  ] "  continued  the  doctor ;  "  is  n't  Iceland  a 
volcanic  land,  so  to  speak,  made  of  volcanoes'?" 

z 


402  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"Yes,  Iceland,"  said  the  American,  "but  so  near  the  Pole !" 

"  Well,  did  n't  Commodore  James  Ross  find  in  the  Southern 
Continent  two  active  A^olcanoes,  Erebus  and  Terror  by  name,  in 
longitude  170°  and  latitude  78°  1  Why  then  shouldn't  there,  be 
volcanoes  at  the  North  Pole  % " 

"  It  may  be  so,  after  all,"  answered  Altamont. 

"Ah,"  cried  the  doctor,  "  I  see  it  clearly  !     It  is  a  volcano." 

"Well,"  said  Hatteras,  "let  us  sail  straight  towards  it." 

"  The  wind  is  changing,"  said  Johnson. 

"Haul  on  the  fore-sheet,  and  bring  her  nearer  the  wind." 

But  this  manoeuvre  only  turned  the  launch  away  from  the 
point  they  had  been  gazing  at,  and  even  with  their  closest  exam- 
ination they  could  not  find  it  again.  Still,  they  could  not  doubt 
that  they  were  nearing  land.  They  had  seen,  if  they  had  not 
reached,  the  object  of  their  voyage,  and  within  twenty -four  hours 
they  would  set  foot  on  this  unknown  shore.  Providence,  after 
letting  them  get  so  near,  would  not  drive  them  back  at  the  last 
moment. 

Still,  no  one  manifested  the  joy  which  might  have  been  ex- 
pected under  the  circumstances;  each  one  wondered  in  silence 
what  this  polar  land  might  be.  The  animals  seemed  to  shun 
it;  at  evening  the  birds,  instead  of  seeking  refuge  there,  flew 
with  all  speed  to  the  south.  Could  not  a  single  gull  or  ptarmi- 
gan find  a  resting-place  there  1  Even  the  fish,  the  large  cetacea, 
avoided  that  coast.  Whence  came  this  repugnance,  which  was 
shared  by  all  the  animals  they  saw,  unless  from  terror] 

The  sailors  experienced  the  same  feeling ;  they  gave  w^ay  to 
the  feelings  inspired  by  the  situation,  and  gradually  each  one 
felt  his  eyelids  grow  heavy.  It  was  Hatteras's  watch.  He  took 
the  tiller;  the  doctor,  Altamont,  Johnson,  and  Bell  fell  asleep, 
stretched  on  the  benches,  and  soon  were  dreaming  soundly. 
Hatteras  struggled  against  his  sleepiness ;  he  wished  to  lose  not 
a  moment ;  but  the  gentle  motion  of  the  launch  rocked  him,  in 
spite  of  himself,  into  a  gentle  sleep. 

The  boat  made  hardly  any  headway;  the  wind  did  not  keep 
her  sails  full.  Far  off  in  the  west  a  few  icebergs  were  reflecting 
the  sun's  rays,  and  glowing  brightly  in  the  midst  of  the  ocean. 


"Aquatic  birds  of  all  sorts  were  there."  —  Page  397. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


403 


Hatteras  began  to  dream.  He  recalled  his  whole  life,  with 
the  incalculable  speed  of  dreams;  he  went  through  the  winter 
again,  the  scenes  at  Victoria  Bay,  Fort  Providence,  Doctor's 
House,  the  finding  the  American  beneath  the  snow.  Here  re- 
moter incidents  came  up  before  him ;  he  dreamed  of  the  burning 
of  the  Forward,  of  his  treacherous  companions  who  had  aban- 
doned him.  What  had  become  of  them  %  He  thought  of  Shan- 
don,  Wall,  and  the  brutal  Penn.  Where  were  they  now  ]  Had 
they  succeeded  in  reaching  Baffin's  Bay  across  the  icel  Then 
he  went  further  back,  to  his  departure  from   England,  to  his 


previous  voyages,  his  failures  and  misfortunes.  Then  he  forgot 
his  present  situation,  his  success  so  near  at  hand,  his  hopes  half 
realized.  His  dreams  carried  him  from  joy  to  agony.  So  it 
went  on  for  two  hours ;  then  his  thoughts  changed ;  he  began 
to  think  of  the  Pole,  and  he  saw  himself  at  last  setting  foot  on 
this  English  continent,  and  unfolding  the  flag  of  the  United 
Kingdom.  While  he  was  dozing  in  this  way  a  huge,  dark  cloud 
was  climbing  across  the  sky,  throwing  a  deep  shadow  over  the 
sea. 

It  is  difficnlt  to  imagine  the  great  speed  with  which  hurri- 
canes arise  in  the  arctic  seas.     The  vapors  which  rise  under  the 


404  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

equator  are  condensed  above  the  great  glaciers  of  the  North, 
and  large  masses  of  air  are  needed  to  take  their  place.  This 
can  explain  the  severity  of  arctic  storms. 

At  the  first  shock  of  the  wind  the  captain  and  his  friends 
awoke  from  their  sleep,  ready  to  manage  the  launch.  The  waves 
were  high  and  steep.  The  launch  tossed  helplessly  about,  now 
plunged  into  deep  abysses,  now  oscillated  on  the  pointed  crest 
of  a  wave,  inclining  often  at  an  angle  of  more  than  forty-five 
degrees.  Hatteras  took  firm  hold  of  the  tiller,  which  was  noisily 
sliding  from  one  side  to  the  other.  Every  now  and  then  some 
strong  wave  would  strike  it  and  nearly  throw  him  over.  Johnson 
and  Bell  were  busily  occupied  in  bailing  out  the  water  which 
the  launch  would  occasionally  ship. 

"  This  is  a  storm  we  hardly  expected,"  said  Altamont,  holding 
fast  to  his  bench. 

"  We  ought  to  expect  anything  here,"  answered  the  doctor. 

These  remarks  were  made  amid  the  roar  of  the  tempest  and 
the  hissing  of  the  waves,  which  the  violence  of  the  wind  reduced 
to  a  fine  spray.  It  was  nearly  impossible  for  one  to  hear  his 
neighbor.  It  was  hard  to  keep  the  boat's  head  to  the  north ;  the 
clouds  hid  everything  a  few  fathoms  from  the  boat,'  and  they 
had  no  mark  to  sail  by.  This  sudden  tempest,  just  as  they  were 
about  attaining  their  object,  seemed  full  of  warning;  to  their 
excited  minds  it  came  like  an  order  to  go  no  farther.  Did 
Nature  forbid  approach  to  the  Pole?  Was  this  point  of  the 
globe  surrounded  by  hurricanes  and  tempests  which  rendered 
access  impossible  1  But  any  one  who  had  caught  sight  of  those 
men  could  have  seen  that  they  did  not  flinch  before  wind  or 
wave,  and  that  they  would  push  on  to  the  end.  So  they  strug- 
gled on  all  day,  braving  death  at  every  instant,  and  making  no 
progress  northward,  but  also  losing  no  ground ;  they  were  wet 
through  by  the  rain  and  waves ;  above  the  din  of  the  storm  they 
could  hear  the  hoarse  cries  of  the  birds. 

But  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  while  the  waves  were  rising, 
there  came  a  sudden  calm.  The  wind  stopped  as  if  by  a  miracle. 
The  sea  was  smooth,  as  if  it  had  not  felt  a  puiF  of  wind  for  twelve 
hours.     The  hurricane  seemed  to  have  respected  this  part  of  the 


"Then  the  eye  glancing  down  into  the  transparent  water,  the  sight  was  equally 
strange."  —  Page  398. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  405 

Polar  Ocean.  What  was  the  reason'?  It  was  an  extraordinary 
phenomenon,  which  Captain  Sabine  had  witnessed  in  his  voyages 
in  Greenland  seas.  The  fog,  without  lifting,  was  very  bright. 
The  launch  drifted  along  in  a  zone  of  electric  light,  an  immense 
St.  Elmo  fire,  brilliant  but  without  heat.  The  mast,  sail,  and 
rigging  stood  out  black  against  the  phosphorescent  air;  the  men 
seemed  to  have  plunged  into  a  bath  of  transparent  rays,  and  their 
faces  were  all  lit  up.  The  sudden  calm  of  this  portion  of  the 
ocean  came,  without  doubt,  from  the  ascending  motion  of  the  col- 
umns of  air,  while  the  tempest,  which  was  a  cyclone,  turned  rap- 
idly about  this  peaceful  centre.  But  this  atmosphere  on  fire 
suggested  a  thought  to  Hatteras. 
'  The  volcano  ! "  he  cried. 

"Is  it  possible r'  asked  Bell. 

"  No,  no  ! "  answered  the  doctor ;  "  we  should  be  smothered  if 
the  flames  were  to  reach  us." 

"  Perhaps  it  is  its  reflection  in  the  fog,"  said  Altamont. 

"  No.  We  should  have  to  admit  that  we  were  near  land,  and 
in  that  case  we  should  hear  the  eruption." 

"  But  then  1 "  asked  the  captain. 

"  It  is  a  phenomenon,"  said  the  doctor,  "  which  has  been  sel- 
dom observed  hitherto.  If  we  go  on  we  cannot  help  leaving  this 
luminous  sphere  and  re-entering  storm  and  darkness." 

"Whatever  it  is,  push  on  !  "  said  Hatteras. 

"  Forward  !  "  cried  his  companions,  who  did  not  wish  to  delay 
even  for  breathing-time  in  this  quiet  spot.  The  bright  sail  hung 
down  the  glistening  mast ;  the  oars  dipped  into  the  glowing 
waves,  and  appeared  to  drip  with  sparks.  Hatteras,  compass  in 
hand,  turned  the  boat's  head  to  the  north ;  gradually  the  mist 
lost  its  brightness  and  transparency ;  the  wind  could  be  heard 
roaring  a  short  distance  off;  and  soon  the  launch,  lying  over  before 
a  strong  gust,  re-entered  the  zone  of  storms.  Fortunately,  the 
hurricane  had  shifted  a  point  towards  the  south,  and  the  launch 
was  able  to  run  before  the  wind,  straight  for  the  Pole,  running 
the  risk  of  foundering,  but  sailing  very  fast ;  a  rock,  reef,  or  piece 
of  ice  might  at  any  moment  rise  before  them,  and  crush  them  to 
atoms.     Still,  no  one  of  these  men  raised  a  single  objection,  nor 


406  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT  TEE  AS. 

suggested  prudence.  They  were  seized  with  the  madness  of 
danger.  Thirst  for  the  unknown  took  possession  of  them.  They 
were  going  along,  not  Winded,  but  bhndly,  finding  their  speed 
only  too  slow  for  their  impatience.  Hatteras  held  the  tiller  firm 
amid  the  Avaves  lashed  into  foam  by  the  tempest.  Still  the  prox- 
imity of  land  became  evident.  Strange  signs  filled  the  air.  Sud- 
denly the  mist  parted  like  a  curtain  torn  by  the  wind,  and  for  a 
moment,  brief  as  a  flash  of  lightning,  a  great  burst  of  flame  could 
be  seen  rising  towards  the  sky. 

"  The  volcano  !  the  volcano  !  "  was  the  cry  which  escaped  from 
the  lips  of  all ;  but  the  strange  vision  disappeared  at  once ;  the 
wind  shifted  to  the  southeast,  took  the  launch  on  her  quarter, 
and  drove  her  from  this  unapproachable  land. 

"  Malediction  !  "  said  Hatteras,  shifting  her  sail ;  "  we  were  not 
three  miles  from  land  ! " 

Hatteras  could  not  resist  the  force  of  the  tempest ;  but  without 
yielding  to  it,  he  brought  the  boat  about  in  the  wind,  which  was 
blowing  with  fearful  violence.  Every  now  and  then  the  launch 
leaned  to  one  side,  so 'that  almost  her  whole  keel  was  exposed; 
still  she  obeyed  her  rudder,  and  rose  like  a  stumbling  horse  which 
his  rider  brings  up  by  spur  and  reins.  Hatteras,  with  his  hair 
flying  and  his  hand  on  the  tiller,  seemed  to  be  part  of  the  boat, 
like  horse  and  man  at  the  time  of  the  centaurs.  Suddenly  a  ter- 
rible sight  presented  itself  to  their  eyes.  Within  less  than  ten 
fathoms  a  floe  was  balancing  on  the  waves ;  it  fell  and  rose  like 
the  launch,  threatening  in  its  fall  to  crush  it  to  atoms.  But  to 
this  danger  of  being  plunged  into  the  abyss  was  added  another  no 
less  terrible ;  for  this  drifting  floe  was  covered  ^vith  white  bears, 
crowded  together  and  wild  with  terror. 

"Bears  !  bears  ! "  cried  Bell,  in  terror. 

And  each  one  gazed  with  terror.  The  floe  pitched  fearfully, 
sometimes  at  such  an  angle  that  the  bears  were  all  rolled  to- 
gether. Then  their  roars  were  almost  as  loud  as  the  tempest ;  a 
formidable  din  arose  from  the  floating  menagerie. 

If  the  floe  had  upset,  the  bears  would  have  swum  to  the  boat 
and  clambered  aboard. 

For  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  which  was  as  long  as  a  century,  the 


•  It  's  a  volcano  ! '  he  cried,"  —  Page  401. 


The  launch  tossed  helplessly  about."  —  Page  404. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  407 

launch  and  floe  drifted  along  in  consort,  twenty  fathoms  from  one 
another  at  one  moment  and  nearly  running  together  the  next, 
and  at  times  they  were  so  near  to  one  another,  the  bears  need 
only  have  dropped  to  have  got  on  board.  The  Greenland  dogs 
trembled  from  terror ;  Duke  remained  motionless.  Hatteras  and 
his  companions  were  silent ;  it  did  not  occur  to  them  to  put  the 
helm  down  and  sail  away,  and  they  went  straight  on.  A  vague 
feeling,  of  astonishment  rather  than  terror,  took  possession  of 
them ;  they  admired  this  spectacle  which  completed  the  struggle 
of  the  elements.  Finally  the  floe  drifted  away,  borne  by  the 
wind,  which  the  launch  was  able  to  withstand,  as  she  lay  with  her 
head  to  the  wind,  and  it  disappeared  in  the  mist,  its  presence 
being  known  merely  by  the  distant  roaring  of  the  bears. 

At  that  moment  the  fury  of  the  tempest  redoubled ;  there  was 
an  endless  unchaining  of  atmospheric  waves ;  the  boat,  borne  by 
the  waves,  was  tossed  about  giddily;  her  sail  flew  away  like  a 
huge  white  bird ;  a  whirlpool,  a  new  Maelstrom,  formed  among 
the  waves  ;  the  boat  was  carried  so  fast  that  it  seemed  to  the  men 
as  if  the  rapidly  revolving  water  were  motionless.  They  were 
gradually  sinking  down.  There  was  an  irresistible  power  drag- 
ging them  down  and  ingulfing  them  alive.  All  five  arose.  They 
looked  at  one  another  with  terror.  They  grew  dizzy.  They  felt 
an  undefinable  dread  of  the  abyss !  But  suddenly  the  launch 
arose  perpendicularly.  Her  prow  was  higher  than  the  whirling 
waves ;  the  speed  with  which  she  was  moving  hurled  her  beyond 
the  centre  of  attraction,  and  escaping  by  the  tangent  of  this  cir- 
cumference which  was  making  more  than  a  thousand  turns  a 
second,  she  was  hurled  away  with  the  rapidity  of  a  cannon-ball. 

Altamont,  the  doctor,  Johnson,  and  Bell  were  thrown  down 
among  the  seats.  When  they  rose,  Hatteras  had  disappeared. 
It  was  two  o'clock  in  the  morning. 


408 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT T ERAS. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 


THE    ENGLISH    FLAG. 


One  cry,  bursting  from  the  lips  of  the  other  four,  succeeded 
their  first  stupefaction. 

"  Hatteras  !  "  cried  the  doctor. 

"  Gone  !  "  said  Johnson  and  Bell. 

"  Lost ! " 

They  looked  about,  but  nothing  was  to  be  seen  on  the  storm- 
tossed  sea.  Duke  barked  despairingly ;  he  tried  to  spring  into 
the  water,  but  Bell  managed  to  hold  him. 

"  Take  a  place  at  the  helm,  Altamont,"  said  the  doctor ;  "  let 
us  try  everything  to  save  the  captain." 


Johnson  and  Bell  took  their  seats.  Altamont  took  the  helm, 
and  the  launch  came  into  wind  again.  Johnson  and  Bell  began 
to  row  vigorously ;  for  an  hour  they  remained  at  the  scene  of  the 
accident.     They  sought  earnestly,  biit  in  vain.     The  unfortunate 


The  fog  without  lilting  was  very  bright." —  Page  405. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  409 

Hatteras  was  lost  in  the  storm !  Lost,  so  near  the  Pole,  so  near 
the  end,  of  which  he  had  had  but  a  glimpse ! 

The  doctor  called  aloud,  and  fired  the  guns  ;  Duke  added  his 
howling,  but  there  was  no  answer.  Then  profound  grief  seized 
Clawbonny ;  his  head  sank  into  his  hands,  and  his  companions  saw 
that  he  was  weeping.  In  fact,  at  this  distance  from  land,  with  a 
scrap  of  wood  to  hold  him  up,  Hatteras  could  not  reach  the  shore 
alive  ;  and  if  anything  did  come  ashore,  it  would  be  his  disfigured 
corpse.  After  hunting  for  an  hour,  they  decided  to  turn  to  the 
north,  and  struggle  against  the  last  furies  of  the  tempest. 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  July  11th  the  wind  went 
down  ;  the  sea  grew  quieter  ;  the  sky  regained  its  polar  clearness, 
and  within  three  miles  of  them  appeared  the  land.  This  con- 
tinent was  but  an  island,  or  rather  a  volcano,  peering  up  like  a 
lighthouse  at  the  North  Pole.  The  mountain,  in  full  eruption, 
was  hurling  forth  a  mass  of  burning  stones  and  melting  rocks. 
It  seemed  to  be  rising  and  falling  beneath  the  successive  blasts  as 
if  it  were  breathing ;  the  things  which  were  cast  out  reached  a 
great  height  in  the  air ;  amid  the  jets  of  flame,  torrents  of  lava 
were  flowing  down  the  side  of  the  mountain ;  here  creeping  be- 
tween steaming  rocks,  there  falling  in  cascades  amid  the  purple 
vapor :  and  lower  down  a  thousand  streams  united  in  one  large 
river,  which  ran  boiling  into  the  sea. 

The  volcano  seemed  to  have  but  a  single  crater,  whence  arose  a 
column  of  fire,  lighted  by  transverse  rays  ;  one  would  have  said 
that  part  of  the  magnificence  of  the  phenomenon  was  due  to 
electricity.  Above  the  flames  floated  an  immense  cloud  of  smoke, 
red  below,  black  above.  It  rose  with  great  majesty,  and  unrolled 
into  huge  layers. 

The  sky  at  a  considerable  height  had  an  ashy  hue ;  the  dark- 
ness, which  was  so  marked  during  the  tempest,  and  of  which  the 
doctor  could  give  no  satisfactory  explanation,  evidently  came  from 
the  ashes,  which  completely  hid  the  sun.  He  remembered  a 
similar  fact  that  took  place  in  1812,  at  the  Barbadoes,  which  at 
noon  was  plunged  into  total  darkness  by  the  mass  of  cinders 
thrown  from  the  crater  of  Isle  St.  Vincent. 

This  enormous  volcano,  jutting  up  in  mid-ocean,  was  about  six 
18 


410  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

thousand  feet  high,  very  nearly  the  altitude  of  Hecla.  A  line 
from  the  summit  to  the  base  would  form  with  the  horizon  an 
angle  of  about  eleven  degrees.  It  seemed  to  rise  from  the  bosom 
of  the  waves  as  the  launch  approached  it.  There  was  no  trace 
of  vegetation.     There  was  no  shore ;  it  ran  down  steep  to  the  sea. 

''Shall  we  be  able  to  land]"  said  the  doctor. 

"The  wind  is  carrying  us  there,"  answered  Altamont. 

"  But  I  can't  see  any  beach  on  which  we  could  set  foot." 

'"  So  it  seems  from  here,"  answered  Johnson ;  "  but  we  shall 
find  some  place  for  our  boat ;  that  is  all  we  need." 

"  Let  us  go  on,  then  !  "  answered  Clawbonny,  sadly. 

The  doctor  had  no  eyes  for  the  strange  continent  which  was 
rising  before  him.  The  land  of  the  Pole  was  there,  but  not  the 
man  who  had  discovered  it.  Five  hundred  feet  from  the  rocks 
the  sea  was  boiling  under  the  action  of  subterraneous  fires.  The 
island  was  from  eight  to  ten  miles  in  circumference,  no  more ;  and, 
according  to  their  calculation,  it  was  very  near  the  Pole,  if  indeed 
the  axis  of  the  world  did  not  pass  exactly  through  it.  As  they 
drew  near  they  noticed  a  little  fiord  large  enough  to  shelter  their 
boat;  they  sailed  towards  it,  filled  with  the  fear  of  finding  the 
captain's  body  cast  ashore  by  the  tempest. 

Still,  it  seemed  unlikely  that  any  corpse  should  rest  there  ; 
there  was  no  beach,  and  the  sea  beat  against  the  steep  rocks; 
thick  ashes,  on  which  no  human  foot  had  ever  stepped,  covered 
the  ground  beyond  the  reach  of  the  waves.  At  last  the  launch 
slipped  between  the  breakers,  and  there  she  was  perfectly  shel- 
tered against  the  surf.  Then  Duke's  lamentable  howling  re- 
doubled ;  the  poor  animal  called  for  the  captain  with  his  sad  wails 
among  the  rocks.  His  barking  was  vain  ;  and  the  doctor  caressed 
him,  without  being  able  to  calm  him,  when  the  faithful  dog,  as  if 
he  wanted  to  replace  his  master,  made  a  prodigious  leap,  and  was  the 
first  to  get  ashore  amid  the  dust  and  ashes  which  flew  about  him. 

"  Duke  !  Duke  !  "  said  the  doctor. 

Duke  did  not  hear  him,  but  disappeared.  The  men  then  went 
ashore,  and  made  the  launch  fast.  Altamont  was  preparing  to 
climb  up  a  large  pile  of  rocks,  when  Duke's  distant  barking  was 
heard ;  it  expressed  pain,  not  wrath. 


This  drifting  floe  was  covered  with  white  bears,  crowded  together."  —  Page  406. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  411 

"  Listen  !  "  said  the  doctor. 

"  Has  he  got  on  the  track  of  some  animal  1 "  asked  the  boat- 
swain. 

"  No,"  answered  the  doctor,  quivering  with  emotion ;  "  he  's 
mourning,  crying  !     Hatteras's  body  is  there  !  " 

At  these  words  the  four  men  started  after  Duke,  in  the  midst 
of  bUnding  cinders  ;  they  reached  the  end  of  the  fiord,  a  little  place 
ten  feet 'broad,  where  the  waves  were  gently  breaking.  There 
Duke  was  barking  near  a  body  wrapped  up  in  the  English  flag. 

"  Hatteras,  Hatteras  !  "  cried  the  doctor,  rushing  to  the  body 
of  his  friend. 

But  at  once  he  uttered  an  explanation  which  it  is  impossible 
to  render.  This  bleeding  and  apparently  lifeless  body  had  just 
given  signs  of  life. 

"  Alive,  alive  !  "  he  cried. 

"  Yes,"  said  a  feeble  voice,  "  living  on  the  land  of  the  Pole, 
where  the  tempest  cast  me  up  !     Living  on  Queen  Island  !  " 

"  Hurrah  for  England  !  "  cried  the  five  together. 

"  And  for  America  ! "  added  the  doctor,  holding  out  one  hand 
to  Hatteras  and  the  other  to  Altamont.  Duke,  too,  hurrahed  in 
his  own  way,  which  was  as  good  as  any  other. 

At  first  these  kind-hearted  men  were  wholly  given  up  to  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  their  captain  again ;  they  felt  the  tears  welling 
up  into  their  eyes.  The  doctor  examined  Hatteras's  condition. 
He  was  not  seriously  injured.  The  wind  had  carried  him  to  the 
shore,  where  it  was  hard  to  land ;  the  bold  sailor,  often  beaten 
back,  at  last  succeeded  in  clambering  upon  a  rock  above  the  reach 
of  the  waves.  Then  he  lost  consciousness,  after  wrapping  himself 
up  in  his  flag,  and  he  only  came  to  himself  under  Duke's  caresses 
and  barking.  After  receiving  a  few  attentions,  Hatteras  w^as  able 
to  rise,  and,  leaning  on  the  doctor's  arm,  to  go  to  the  launch. 

"  The  Pole,  the  North  Pole  ! "  he  repeated  as  he  walked  along. 

"  You  are  happy  ! "  the  doctor  said  to  him. 

"  Yes,  happy !  And  you,  my  friend,  don't  you  feel  happy  at 
being  here  1  This  land  is  the  land  of  the  Pole !  This  sea  we 
have  crossed  is  the  sea  of  the  Pole  !  This  air  we  breathe  is  the 
air  of  the  Pole  !     0,  the  North  Pole,  the  North  Pole  ! " 


412  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

As  he  spoke,  Hatteras  was  the  victim  of  a  violent  excitement,  a 
sort  of  fever,  and  the  doctor  in  vain  tried  to  calm  him.  His  eyes 
were  strangely  bright,  and  his  thoughts  were  boiling  within  him. 
Clawbonny  ascribed  this  condition  to  the  terrible  perils  he  had 
gone  through.  Hatteras  evidently  needed  rest,  and  they  set , 
about  seeking  a  place  to  camp.  Altamont  soon  found  a  grotto 
in  the  rocks,  which  had  fallen  in  such  a  way  a  to  form  a  cavern. 
Johnson  and  Bell  brought  provisions  there,  and  let  loose  the  dogs. 
Towards  eleven  o'clock  everything  was  prepared  for  a  meal ;  the 
canvas  of  the  tent  served  as  a  cloth ;  the  breakfast,  consisting  of 
pemmican,  salt  meat,  tea  and  coffee,  was  set  and  soon  devoured. 
But  first,  Hatteras  demanded  that  an  observation  should  be 
made ;  he  wanted  to  know  its  position  exactly.  The  doctor  and 
Altamont  then  took  their  instruments,  and  after  taking  an  obser- 
tion  they  found  the  precise  position  of  the  grotto  to  be  latitude 
89°  59'  15''.  The  longitude  at  this  height  was  of  no  importance, 
for  all  the  meridians  run  together  within  a  few  hundred  feet 
higher.  So  in  reality  the  island  was  situated  at  the  North  Pole, 
and  the  ninetieth  degree  of  latitude  was  only  forty-five  seconds 
from  there,  exactly  three  quarters  of  a  mile,  that  is  to  say,  to- 
wards the  top  of  the  volcano.  When  Hatteras  knew  this  result, 
he  asked  that  it  should  be  stated  in  two  documents,  one  to  be 
placed  in  a  cairn  on  the  shore.  So  at  once  the  doctor  took  his 
pen  and  wrote  the  following  document,  one  copy  of  which  is  now 
in  the  archives  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  in  London  :  — 

"July  11,  1861,  in  north  latitude  89°  59'  15",  '  Queen  Island  ' 
was  discovered  at  the  North  Pole  by  Captain  Hatteras,  command- 
ing the  brig  Forward  of  Liverpool,  who  has  set  his  name  hereto, 
with  his  companions.  Whoever  shall  find  this  document  is  en- 
treated to  forward  it  to  the  Admiralty. 

(Signed)  John  Hatteras,  Captain  of  the  Forward. 

Dr.  Clawbonny. 

Altamont,  Captain  of  the  Porpoise. 

Johnson,  Boatswain. 

Bell,  Carpenter." 

"  And  now,  my  friends,  to  table  ! "  said  the  doctor,  gayly. 


Her  sail  flew  away  like  a  huge  white  bird  ;  a  whirlpool,  a  new  Maelstrom,  formed 
among  the  waves."  —  Page  407. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  413 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

POLAR    COSMOGRAPHY. 

Of  course,  to  eat  at  table,  they  were  obliged  to  sit  on  the 
ground. 

"  But,"  said  Clawbonny,  "  who  would  n't  give  all  the  tables 
and  dining-rooms  in  the  world,  to  dine  in  north  latitude  89** 
59'  15"  r' 

Th6  thoughts  of  each  one  were  about  their  situation.  They 
had  no  other  idea  than  the  North  Pole.  The  dangers  they  had 
undergone  to  reach  it,  those  to  overcome  before  returning,  were 
forgotten  in  their  unprecedented  success.  What  neither  Euro- 
peans, Americans,  nor  Asiatics  had  been  able  to  do,  they  had 
accomplished.  Hence  they  were  all  ready  to  listen  to  the  doctor 
when  he  told  them  all  that  his  inexhaustible  memory  could 
recall  about  their  position.  It  was  with  real  enthusiasm  that  he 
first  proposed  their  captain's  health. 

"  To  John  Hatteras  ! "  he  said. 

"  To  John  Hatteras  !  "  repeated  the  others. 

"  To  the  North  Pole ! "  answered  the  captain,  with  a  warmth 
that  was  unusual  in  this  man  who  was  usually  so  self-restrained, 
but  who  now  was  in  a  state  of  great  nervous  excitement.  They 
touched  glasses,  and  the  toasts  were  followed  by  earnest  hand- 
shakings. 

"  It  is,"  said  the  doctor,  "  the  most  important  geographical  fact 
of  our  day !  AVho  would  have  thought  that  this  discovery  would 
precede  that  of  the  centre  of  Africa  or  Australia  1  Really,  Hat- 
teras, you  are  greater  than  Livingstone,  Burton,  and  Barth  !  All 
honor  to  you !  " 

"You  are  right.  Doctor,"  said  Altamont ;  "  it  would  seem,  from 
the  difficulty  of  the  undertaking,  that  the  Pole  would  be  the 
last  place  discovered.  Whenever  the  government  was  absolutely 
determined  to  know  the   middle  of  Africa,  it  would  have  sue- 


414  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

ceeded  at  the  cost  of  so  many  men  and  so  much  money ;  but 
here  nothing  is  less  certain  than  success,  and  there  might  be 
obstacles  really  insuperable." 

"  Insuperable ! "  cried  Hatteras  with  warmth ;  "  there  are  no 
insuperable  obstacles ;  there  are  more  or  less  determined  minds, 
that  is  all ! " 

"  Well,"  said  Johnson,  "  we  are  here,  and  it  is  well.  But, 
Doctor,  will  you  tell  me,  once  for  all,  what  there  is  so  remarkable 
about  the  Pole  ]  " 

"  It  is  this,  Johnson,  that  it  is  the  only  motionless  part  of  the 
globe,  while  all  the  rest  is  turning  with  extreme  rapidity." 

"But  I  don't  see  that  we  are  more  motionless  here  than  at 
Liverpool."  ' 

"No  more  than  you  perceive  the  motion  at  Liverpool;  and 
that  is  because  in  both  cases  you  participate  in  the  movement 
or  the  repose.  But  the  fact  is  no  less  certain.  The  earth  rotates 
in  twenty -four  hours,  and  this  motion  is  on  an  axis  with  its 
extremities  at  the  two  poles.  Well,  we  are  at  one  of  the  ex- 
tremities of  the  axis,  which  is  necessarily  motionless." 

"So,"  said  Bell,  "when  our  countrymen  are  turning  rapidly, 
we  are  perfectly  still  1 " 

"  Very  nearly,  for  we  are  not  exactly  at  the  Pole." 

''You  are  right.  Doctor,"  said  Hatteras  seriously,  and  shaking 
his  head  ;  "we  are  still  forty-five  seconds  from  the  precise  spot." 

"That  is  not  far,"  answered  Altamont,  "and  we  can  consider 
ourselves  motionless." 

"  Yes,"  continued  the  doctor,  "  while  those  living  at  the  equa- 
tor move  at  the  rate  of  three  hundred  and  ninety-six  leagues  an 
hour." 

"And  without  getting  tired  !"  said  Bell. 

"  Exactly  !  "  answered  the  doctor. 

"But,"  continued  Johnson,  "besides  this  movement  of  rotation, 
does  n't  the  earth  also  move  about  the  sun  1 " 

"  Yes,  and  this  takes  a  year." 

"Is  it  swifter  than  the  other?" 

"  Infinitely  so  ;  and  I  ought  to  say  that,  although  wq  are  at 
the  Pole,  it  takes  us  with  it  as  well  as  all  the  people   in  the 


'The  mountain  was  in  full  eruption."  —  Page  409. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  415 

world.  So  our  pretended  immobility  is  a  chimera :  we  are 
motionless  with  regard  to  the  other  points  of  the  globe,  but  not 
so  with  regard  to  the  sun." 

"  Good  ! "  said  Bell,  with  an  accent  of  comic  regret ;  "  so  I,  who 
thought  I  was  still,  was  mistaken  !  This  illusion  has  to  be  given 
up  !     One  can't  have  a  moment's  peace  in  this  world." 

"You  are  right.  Bell,"  answered  Johnson;  "and  will  you  tell 
us,  Doctor,  how  fast  this  motion  is  % " 

"It  is  very  fast,"  answered  the  doctor;  "the  earth  moves 
around  the  sun  seventy-six  times  faster  than  a  twenty-four-pound 
cannon-ball  flies,  which  goes  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  fathoms 
a  second.  It  moves,  then,  seven  leagues  and  six  tenths  per  second  ; 
you  see  it  is  very  different  from  the  diurnal  movement  of  the 
equator." 

"The  deuce!"  said  Bell;  "that  is  incredible.  Doctor!  More 
than  seven  leagues  a  second,  and  that  when  it  would  have  been 
so  easy  to  be  motionless,  if  God  had  wished  it !  " 

"  Good  ! "  said  Altamont ;  "  do  you  think  so.  Bell  1  In  that  case 
no  more  night,  nor  spring,  nor  autumn,  nor  winter ! " 

"Without  considering  a  still  more  terrible  result,"  continued 
the  doctor. 

"  What  is  that  % "  asked  Johnson. 

"  We  should  all  fall  into  the  sun  !  " 

"  Fall  into  the  sun  ! "  repeated  Bell  with  surprise. 

*'Yes.  If  this  motion  were  to  stop,  the  earth  would  fall  into 
the  sun  in  sixty-four  days  and  a  half." 

"  A  fall  of  sixty-four  days  !  "  said  Johnson. 

"  No  more  nor  less,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  for  it  would  have 
to  fall  a  distance  of  thirty-eight  millions  of  leagues." 

"What  is  the  weight  of  the  earth  T'  asked  Altamont. 

"  It  is  five  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety-one  quadrillions 
of  tons." 

"  Good  !  "  said  Johnson ;  "those  numbers  have  no  meaning." 

"  For  that  reason,  Johnson,  I  was  going  to  give  you  two  com- 
parisons which  you  could  remember.  Don't  forget  that  it  would 
take  seventy-five  moons  to  make  the  sun,  and  three  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  earths  to  make  up  the  weight  of  the  sun." 


416  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

"  That  is  tremendous  !  "  said  Altamont. 

"Tremendous  is  the  word,"  answered  the  doctor;  "but,  to 
return  to  the  Pole,  no  lesson  on  cosmography  on  this  part  of  the 
globe  could  be  more  opportune,  if  it  does  n't  weary  you." 

"  Go  on,  Doctor,  go  on  !  " 

"  I  told  you,"  resumed  the  doctor,  who  took  as  much  pleasure 
in  giving  as  the  others  did  in  receiving  instruction,  —  "I  told 
you  that  the  Pole  was  motionless  in  comparison  with  the  rest 
of  the  globe.     Well,  that  is  not  quite  true  !  " 

"  What !  "  said  Bell,  "  has  that  got  to  be  taken  back  1 " 

"  Yes,  Bell,  the  Pole  is  not  always  exactly  in  the  same  place ; 
formerly  the  North  Star  was  farther  from  the  celestial  pole  than 
it  is  now.  So  our  Pole  has  a  certain  motion ;  it  describes  a  circle 
in  about  twenty-six  years.  That  comes  from  the  precession  of 
the  equinoxes,  of  which  I  shall  speak  soon." 

"But,"  asked  Altamont,  "might  it  not  happen  that  some  day 
the  Pole  should  get  farther  from  its  place  % " 

"Ah,  my  dear  Altamont,"  answered  the  doctor,  "you  bring  up 
there  a  great  question,  which  scientific  men  investigated  for  a 
long  time  in  consequence  of  a  singular  discovery." 

"  What  was  that  % " 

"This  is  it.  In  1771  the  body  of  a  rhinoceros  was  found  on 
the  shore  of  the  Arctic  Sea,  and  in  1799  that  of  an  elephant  on 
the  coast  of  Siberia.  How  did  the  animals  of  warm  countries 
happen  to  be  found  in  these  latitudes  1  Thereupon  there  was 
much  commotion  among  geologists,  who  were  not  so  wise  as  a 
Frenchman,  M.  Elie  de  Beaumont,  has  been  since.  He  showed 
that  these  animals  used  to  live  in  rather  high  latitudes,  and  that 
the  streams  and  rivers  simply  carried  their  bodies  to  the  places 
where  they  were  found.  But  do  you  know  the  explanation 
which  scientific  men  gave  before  this  one?" 

"  Scientific  men  are  capable  of  anything,"  said  Altamont. 

"  Yes,  in  explanation  of  a  fact ;  well,  they  imagined  that  the 
Pole  used  to  be  at  the  equator  and  the  equator  at  the  Pole." 

"Bah!" 

"  It  was  exactly  what  I  tell  you.  Now,  u  it  had  been  so,  since 
the  earth  is  flattened  more  than  five  leagues  at  the  pole,  the 


'  They  noticed  a  little  fiord."  —  Page  410. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  417 

seas,  carried  to  the  equator  by  centrifugal  force,  would  have 
covered  mountains  twice  as  high  as  the  Himalayas ;  all  the 
countries  near  the  polar  circle,  Sweden,  Norway,  Russia,  Siberia, 
Greenland,  and  New  Britain,  would  have  been  buried  in  five 
leagues  of  water,  while  the  regions  at  the  equator,  having  become 
the  pole,  would  have  formed  plateaus  fifteen  leagues  high  ! " 

*'  What  a  change  !  "  said  Johnson. 

"  0,  that  made  no  difference  to  scientific  men !  " 

"  And  how  did  they  explain  the  alteration  "? "  asked  Altamont. 

"  They  said  it  was  due  to  the  shock  of  collision  with  a  comet. 
The  comet  is  the  deus  ex  machina ;  whenever  one  comes  to  a 
difficult  question  in  cosmography,  a  comet  is  lugged  in.  It  is 
the  most  obliging  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  at  the  least  sign 
from  a  scientific  man  it  disarranges  itself  to  arrange  every- 
thing." 

"  Then,"  said  Johnson,  '''  according  to  you,  Doctor,  this  change 
is  impossible  V 

"  Impossible ! " 

''And  if  it  should  take  place  1" 

*'If  it  did,  the  equator  would  be  frozen  in  twenty-four  hours  ! " 

*'  Good  !  if  it  were  to  take  place  now,"  said  Bell,  "people  would 
as  likely  as  not  say  we  had  never  gone  to  the  Pole." 

"  Calm  yourself.  Bell.  To  return  to  the  immobility  of  the  ter- 
restrial axis,  the  following  is  the  result :  if  we  were  to  spend  a 
winter  here,  we  should  see  the  stars  describing  a  circle  about  us. 
As  for  the  sun,  the  day  of  the  vernal  equinox,  March  23d,  it 
would  appear  to  us  (I  take  no  account  of  refraction)  exactly  cut 
in  two  by  the  horizon,  and  would  rise  gradually  in  longer  and 
longer  curves ;  but  here  it  is  remarkable  that  when  it  has  once 
risen  it  sets  no  more  ;  it  is  visible  for  six  months.  Then  its 
disk  touches  the  horizon  again  at  the  autumnal  equinox,  Septem- 
ber 22d,  and  as  soon  as  it  is  set,  it  is  seen  no  more  again  all 
winter." 

"  You  were  speaking  just  now  of  the  flattening  of  the  earth  at 
the  poles,"  said  Johnson;  "be  good  enough  to  explain  that. 
Doctor." 

"  I  will.  Since  the  earth  was  fluid  when  first  created,  you  un- 
18*  AA 


418  TtJ^E  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT T ERAS. 

derstand  that  its  rotary  movement  would  try  to  drive  part  of  the 
mobile  mass  to  the  equator,  where  the  centrifugal  force  was 
greater.  If  the  earth  had  been  motionless,  it  would  have 
remained  a  perfect  sphere ;  but  in  consequence  of  the  phenome- 
non I  have  just  described,  it  has  an  ellipsoidal  form,  and  points 
at  the  pole  are  nearer  the  centre  of  the  earth  than  points  at  the 
equator  by  about  five  leagues." 

"So,"  said  Johnson,  "if  our  captain  wanted  to  take  us  to  the 
centre  of  the  earth,  we  should  have  five  leagues  less  to  go  % " 

"  Exactly,  my  friend." 

"  Well,  Captain,  it 's  so  much  gained  !  We  ought  to  avail  our- 
selves of  it." 

But  Hatteras  did  not  answer.  Evidently  he  had  lost  all  inter- 
est in  the  conversation,  or  perhaps  he  was  listening  without 
hearing. 

"Well,"  answered  the  doctor,  "according  to  certain  scientific 
men,  it  would  be  worth  while  to  try  this  expedition." 

"  What  1  really  1 "  exclaimed  Johnson. 

''But  let  me  finish,"  answered  the  doctor.  "  I  will  tell  you.  I 
must  first  tell  you  this  flattening  of  the  poles  is  the  cause  of  tl^e 
precession  of  the  equinoxes  \  that  is  to  say,  why  every  year  the 
vernal  equinox  comes  a  day  sooner  than  it  would  if  the  earth 
were  perfectly  round.  This  comes  from  the  attraction  of  the  sun 
operating  in  a  different  way  on  the  heaped-up  land  of  the  equator, 
which  then  experiences  a  retrograde  movement.  Subsequently  it 
displaces  this  Pole  a  little,  as  I  just  said.  But,  independently  of 
this  effect,  this  flattening  ought  to  have  a  more  curious  and  more 
personal  efl'ect,  which  we  should  perceive  if  we  had  mathematical 
sensibility." 

"  What  do  you  mean  % "  asked  Bell. 

"  I  mean  that  we  are  heavier  here  than  at  Liverpool." 

"  Heavier  r' 

"  Yes  ;  ourselves,  the  dogs,  our  guns,  and  instruments  ! " 

"Is  it  possible r' 

"  Certainly,  and  for  two  reasons  :  the  first  is,  that  we  are  nearer 
the  centre  of  the  globe,  which  consequently  attracts  us  more 
strongly,  and  this  force  of  gravitation  is  nothing  but  weight ;  the 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  419 

second  is,  the  rotary  force,  which  is  nothing  at  the  pole,  is  very 
marked  at  the  equator,  and  objects  there  have  a  tendency  to  fly 
from  the  earth  :  they  are  less  heavy." 

"  What !  "  exclaimed  Johnson,  seriously  ;  "  have  we  not  the  same 
weight  everywhere  1"    ' 

"  No,  Johnson ;  according  to  Newton's  law,  bodies  attract  one 
another  directly  as  their  masses,  and  inversely  to  the  square  of 
their  distances.  Here  I  weigh  more,  because  I  am  nearer  the 
centre  of  attraction ;  and  on  another  planet  I  should  weigh  more 
or  less  according  to  the  mass  of  the  planet." 

"  What !  "  said  Bell,  "  in  the  moon  —  " 

"  In  the  moon  my  weight,  which  is  two  hundred  pounds  at 
Liverpool,  would  be  only  thirty-two  pounds." 

"  And  in  the  sun  1 " 

*'  0,  in  the  sun  I  should  weigh  more  than  five  thousand 
pounds ! " 

"Heavens!"  said  Bell;  "you'd  need  a  derrick  to  move  your 
legs." 

"Probably,"  answ^ered  the  doctor,  laughing  at  Bell's  amaze- 
ment ;  "  but  here  the  difference  is  imperceptible,  and  by  an  equal 
effort  of  the  muscles  Bell  would  leap  as  high  as  on  the  docks 
at  Liverpool." 

"Yes,  but  in  the  suni"  urged  Bell. 

"  My  friend,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  the  upshot  of  it  all  is  that 
we  are  well  off  where  we  are,  and  need  not  want  to  go  elsewhere." 

"You  said  just  now,"  resumed  Altamont,  "that  perhaps  it 
would  be  worth  while  to  make  a  journey  to  the  centre  of  the 
■world ;  has  such  an  undertaking  ever  been  thought  off  % " 

"  Yes,  and  this  is  all  I  'm  going  to  say  about  the  Pole.  There  is 
no  point  in  the  world  which  has  given  rise  to  more  chimeras  and 
hypotheses.  The  ancients,  in  their  ignorance,  placed  the  garden 
of  the  Hesperides  there.  In  the  Middle  Ages  it  was  supposed 
that  the  earth  was  upheld  on  axles  placed  at  the  poles,  on  which 
it  revolved;  but  when  comets  were  seen  moving  freely,  that  idea 
had  to  be  given  up.  Later,  there  was  a  French  astronomer, 
Bailly,  who  said  that  the  lost  people  mentioned  by  Plato,  the 
Atlantides,  lived  here.     Finally,  it  has  been  asserted  in  our  own 


420  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

time  that  there  was  an  immense  opening  at  the  poles,  from  which 
came  the  Northern  Lights,  and  through  which  one  could  reach 
the  inside  of  the  earth ;  since  in  the  hollow  sphere  two  planets, 
Pluto  and  Proserpine,  were  said  to  move,  and  the  air  was  lumi- 
nous in  consequence  of  the  strong  pressure  it  felt." 

"  That  has  been  maintained  % "  asked  Altamont. 

"  Yes,  it  has  been  written  about  seriously.  Captain  Symmes, 
a  countryman  of  ours,  proposed  to  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  Hum- 
boldt, and  Arago,  to  undertake  the  voyage  !     But  they  declined." 

"And  they  did  well." 

"  I  think  so.  Whatever  it  may  be,  you  see,  my  friends,  that 
the  imagination  has  busied  itself  about  the  Pole,  and  that  sooner 
or  later  we  must  come  to  the  reality." 

'*At  any  rate,  we  shall  see  for  ourselves,"  said  Johnson,  who 
clung  to  his  idea. 

*'  Then,  to-morrow  we  '11  start,"  said  the  doctor,  smiling  at 
seeing  the  old  sailor  but  half  convinced  ;  "  and  if  there  is  any 
opening  to  the  centre  of  the  earth,  we  shall  go  there  together." 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

MOUNT    HATTERAS. 

.  After  this  solid  conversation  every  one  made  himself  as  com- 
fortable as  possible  in  the  cavern,  and  soon  fell  asleep.  Every 
one,  that  is,  except  Hatteras.  Why  did  not  this  strange  man 
sleep  ^ 

Was  not  the  object  of  his  life  attained?  Had  he  not  accom- 
plished the  bold  projects  which  lay  so  near  his  heart  1  Why  did 
not  calmness  succeed  the  agitation  in  his  ardent  mind  %  Would 
not  one  suppose  that,  when  he  had  accomplished  this  end,  Hat- 
teras would  fall  into  a  sort  of  dejection,  and  that  his  over- 
stretched nerves  would  seek  repose  %  After  succeeding,  it  would 
seem  natural  that  he  should  be  seized  with  the  feeling  of  sadness, 
which  always  follows  satisfied  desires. 


Altamont  soon  found  a  grotto  in  the  rocks."  —  Page  412. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE,  421 

But  no.  He  was  only  more  excited.  It  was  not,  however,  the 
thought  of  returning  which  agitated  him  so.  Did  he  wish  to  go 
farther*^  Was  there  no  limit  to  his  ambition,  and  did  he  find  the 
world  too  small,  because  he  had  been  around  it "?  However  this 
may  have  been,  he  could  not  sleep.  And  yet  this  first  night 
spent  at  the  pole  of  the  world  was  pleasant  and  quiet.  The 
island  was  absolutely  uninhabited.  There  was  not  a  bird  in  its 
fire-impregnated  atmosphere,  not  an  animal  on  the  soil  of  cinders, 
not  a  fish  in  its  boiling  waters.  Only  afar  off  the  dull  murmur 
of  the  mountain,  from  the  summit  of  which  arose  puffs  of  hot 
smoke. 

When  Bell,  Johnson,  Altamont,  and  the  doctor  awoke,  Hatteras 
'  was  not  to  be  seen  near  them.  Being  anxious,  they  left  the  cave, 
and  saw  the  captain  standing  on  a  rock.  His  eyes  were  fixed  on 
the  top  of  the  volcano.  He  held  his  instruments  in  his  hands, 
having  evidently  been  calculating  the  exact  height  of  the  moun- 
tain. The  doctor  went  up  to  him  and  spoke  to  him  several  times 
before  he  could  rouse  him  from  his  re  very.  At  last  the  captain 
seemed  to  understand  him. 

"  Forward  ! "  said  the  doctor,  who  was  examining  him  atten- 
tively, —  "  forward !  let  us  explore  our  island ;  we  are  all  ready 
for  our  last  excursion." 

"  Our  last,"  said  Hatteras,  with  the  intonation  of  people  who 
are  dreaming  aloud ;  "  yes,  the  last,  indeed.  But  also,"  he  con- 
tinued with  great  animation,  "  the  most  wonderful ! " 

He  spoke  in  this  way,  rubbing  his  hands  over  his  brow  as  if  to 
allay  its  throbbing.  At  that  moment,  Altamont,  Johnson,  and 
Bell  joined  him ;  Hatteras  appeared  to  awaken  from  his  revery. 

"  My  friends,"  he  said  with  emotion,  "  thanks  for  your  courage, 
thanks  for  your  perseverance,  thanks  for  your  superhuman  efforts, 
which  have  allowed  us  to  set  foot  on  this  land  !  " 

"  Captain  ! "  said  Johnson,  "  we  have  only  obeyed ;  all  the  honor 
is  due  to  you  alone  !  " 

"  No,  no  ! "  resumed  Hatteras  with  emotion ;  "  to  you  as  much 
as  to  me  !  to  Altamont  as  well  as  to  all  of  us !  as  to  the  doctor 
himself —  0,  let  my  heart  well  over  in  your  hands  !  It  can  no 
longer  restrain  its  joy  and  gratitude  !  " 


422  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTEBAS. 

Hatteras  clasped  the  hands  of  his  companions.  He  walked  to 
and  fro,  no  longer  master  of  himself 

"  We  have  only  done  our  duty  as  Englishmen,"  said  Bell. 

"  Our  duty  as  friends,"  continued  the  doctor. 

"  Yes,"  said  Hatteras,  "  but  all  have  not  performed  this  duty. 
Some  have  given  way  !  Still,  they  must  be  pardoned,  both  who 
were  treacherous,  and  those  who  were  led  away  to  it !  Poor  men  ! 
I  forgive  them.     You  understand  me.  Doctor  % " 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  doctor,  who  was  very  uneasy  at  Hatteras's 
excitement. 

"So,"  w^ent  on  the  captain,  "I  don't  want  them  to  lose  the 
money  they  came  so  far  to  seek.  No,  I  shall  not  alter  my  plan ; 
they  shall  be  rich,  —  if  they  ever  see  England  again  !  " 

Few  could  have  withstood  the  tenderness  with  which  Hatteras 
spoke  these  last  words, 

"  But,  Captain,"  said  Johnson,  wdth  an  effort  at  pleasantry, 
"  one  would  say  you  were  making  your  will." 

''  Perhaps  I  am,"  answered  Hatteras,  seriously. 

"  Still  you  have  before  you  a  long  and  glorious  life,"  continued 
the  old  sailor. 

"  Who  can  say  ? "  said  Hatteras. 

A  long  silence  followed  these  words.  The  doctor  did  not  dare 
to  try  to  interpret  the  last  remark.  But  Hatteras  soon  expressed 
his  meaning,  for  in  a  hasty,  hardly  restrained  voice,  he  w^ent 
on  :  — 

"  My  friends,  listen  to  me.  We  have  done  a  good  deal  so  far, 
and  yet  there  is  a  good  deal  to  do." 

His  companions  gazed  at  him  in  astonishment. 

*'Yes,  we  are  on  the  land  of  the  Pole,  but  we  are  not  on  the 
Pole  itself !  " 

*'  How  so  1 "  asked  Altamont. 

"  You  don't  mean  it !  "  cried  the  doctor,  anxiously. 

"  Yes  !  "  resumed  Hatteras,  earnestly,  "  I  said  that  an  English- 
man should  set  foot  on  the  Pole  ;  I  said  it,  and  an  Englishman 
shall  do  it." 

"  What !  "  ejaculated  the  doctor. 

"  We   are  now  forty-five   seconds  from  the   unknown  point,*' 


They  were  all  ready  to  listen  to  the  doctor."  —  Page  413. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  423 

Hatteras  went  on,  with  increasing  animation ;  "  where  it  is,  I  am 
going  ! " 

"  But  that  is  the  top  of  the  volcano  !  "  said  the  doctor. 

"  I  'm  going  !  " 

"  It 's  an  inaccessible  spot !  " 

"  I  'm  going  !  " 

"  It 's  a  fiery  crater !  " 

"  I  'm  going  !  " 

The  firmness  with  which  Hatteras  uttered  these  words  cannot 
be  given.  His  friends  were  stupefied ;  they  gazed  with  horror  at 
the  volcano  tipped  with  flame.  Then  the  doctor  began ;  he 
urged  and  besought  Hatteras  to  give  up  his  design ;  he  said 
everything  he  could  imagine,  from  entreaty  to  well-meant  threats ; 
but  he  obtained  no  concession  from  the  nervous  captain,  who  was 
possessed  with  a  sort  of  madness  which  may  be  called  polar  mad- 
ness. Only  violent  means  could  stop  him,  rushing  to  his  ruin. 
But  seeing  that  thereby  they  would  produce  serious  results,  the 
doctor  wished  to  keep  them  for  a  last  resource.  He  hoped,  too, 
that  some  physical  impossibility,  some  unsurmountable  difficulty, 
would  compel  him  to  give  up  his  plan. 

"Since  it  is  so,"  he  said,  "  we  shall  follow  you." 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  captain,  "  half-way  up  the  mountain  !  No 
farther  !  Have  n't  you  got  to  carry  back  to  England  the  copy  of 
the  document  which  proves  our  discovery,  in  case  —  " 

"Still  —  " 

"  It  is  settled,"  said  Hatteras,  in  a  tone  of  command ;  "  and  since 
my  entreaties  as  a  fi:'iend  are  not  enough,  I  order  it  as  captain." 

The  doctor  was  unwilling  to  urge  him  any  further,  and  a  few 
moments  later  the  little  band,  equipped  for  a  hard  climb,  and 
preceded  by  Duke,  set  out.  The  sky  was  perfectly  clear.  The 
thermometer  stood  at  52°.  The  air  had  all  the  brilliancy  which 
is  so  marked  at  this  high  latitude.  It  was  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  Hatteras  went  ahead  with  his  dog,  the  others  followed 
close  behind. 

"  I  'm  anxious,"  said  Johnson. 

"  No,  no,  there  's  nothing  to  fear,"  answered  the  doctor ;  "  we 
are  here." 


424  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

It  was  a  strange  island,  in  appearance  so  new  and  singular ! 
The  volcano  did  not  seem  old,  and  geologists  would  have  ascribed 
a  recent  date  to  its  formation. 

The  rocks  were  heaped  upon  one  another,  and  only  kept  in 
place  by  almost  miraculous  balancing.  The  mountain,  in  fact, 
was  composed  of  nothing  but  stones  that  had  fallen  from  above. 
There  was  no  soil,  no  moss,  no  lichen,  no  trace  of  vegetation. 
The  carbonic  acid  from  the  crater  had  not  yet  had  time  to  unite 
with  the  hydrogen  of  the  water ;  nor  the  ammonia  of  the  clouds, 
to  form  under  the  action  of  the  light,  organized  matter.  This 
island  had  arisen  from  successive  volcanic  eruptions,  like  many 
other  mountains ;  what  they  have  hurled  forth  has  built  them 
up.  For  instance,  Etna  has  poured  forth  a  volume  of  lava  larger 
than  itself;  and  the  Monte  Nuovo,  near  Naples,  was  formed 
by  ashes  in  the  short  space  of  forty-eight  hours.  The  heap  of 
rocks  composing  Queen's  Island  had  evidently  come  from  the 
bowels  of  the  earth.  Formerly  the  sea  covered  it  all ;  it  had 
been  formed  long  since  by  the  condensation  of  the  vapor  on  the 
cooling  globe ;  but  in  proportion  as  the  volcanoes  of  the  Old  and 
New  World  disappeared,  they  were  replaced  by  new  craters. 

In  fact,  the  earth  can  be  compared  to  a  vast  spheroidal  boiler. 
Under  the  influence  of  the  central  fire  an  immense  quantity  of 
vapor  is  generated,  which  is  exposed  to  a  pressure  of  thousands- 
of  atmospheres,  and  which  w^ould  blow  up  the  globe,  were  it  not 
for  the  safety-valves  opening  on  the  outside. 

These  safety-valves  are  the  volcanoes ;  when  one  closes,  an- 
other opens  ;  and  at  the  poles,  where,  doubtless  in  consequence 
of  the  flattening  of  the  earth's  surface,  the  crust  is  thinner,  it  is 
not  strange  that  a  volcano  should  be  suddenly  formed  by  the 
upheaval  of  the  bottom  of  the  waves.  The  doctor  noticed  all 
this  as  he  followed  Hatteras ;  his  foot  sank  into  a  volcanic  tufa, 
and  the  deposits  of  ashes,  volcanic  stones,  etc.,  like  the  syenite 
and  granite  of  Iceland.  But  he  attributed  a  comparatively 
recent  origin  to  the  island,  on  account  of  the  fact  that  no  sedi- 
mentary soil  had  yet  formed  upon  it.  Water,  too,  was  lacking. 
If  Queen's  Island  had  existed  for  several  years,  there  would  have 
been  springs  upon  it,  as  there  are  in  the  neighborhood  of  vol- 


Tliey  saw  ihz  captain  standing  on  a  rock."  —  Page  4; 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  425 

canoes.  Now,  not  only  was  there  no  drop  of  water  there,  but 
the  vapors  which  arose  from  the  stream  of  lava  seemed  abso- 
lutely anhydrous. 

This  island,  then,  was  of  recent  formation  ;  and  since  it  ap- 
peared in  one  day,  it  might  disappear  in  another  and  sink  be- 
neath the  ocean. 

The  ascent  grew  more  difficult  the  higher  they  went ;  the  sides 
of  the  mountain  became  nearly  perpendicular,  and  they  had  to 
be  very  careful  to  avoid  accident.  Often  columns  of  cinders  were 
blown  about  them  and  threatened  to  choke  them,  or  torrents 
of  lava  barred  their  path.  On  some  such  places  these  streams 
were  hard  on  top,  but  the  molten  stream  flowed  beneath.  Each 
one  had  to  test  it  first  to  escape  sinking  into  the  glowing  mass. 
From  time  to  time  the  crater  vomited  forth  huge  red-hot  rocks 
amid  burning  gases ;  some  of  these  bodies  burst  in  the  air  like 
shells,  and  the  fragments  were  hurled  far  off  in  all  directions. 
The  innimierable  dangers  of  this  ascent  may  be  readily  per- 
ceived, as  well  as  the  foolhardiness  of  the  attempt. 

Still,  Hatteras  climbed  with  wonderful  agility,  and  while  spurn- 
ing the  use  of  his  iron-tipped  staff,  he  ascended  the  steepest 
slopes.  He  soon  reached  a  circular  rock,  which  formed  a  sort 
of  plateau  about  ten  feet  broad ;  a  glowing  stream  surrounded 
it,  which  was  divided  at  the  corner  by  a  higher  rock,  and  left 
only  a  narrow  passage  through  which  Hatteras  slipped  boldly. 
There  he  stopped,  and  his  companions  were  able  to  join  him. 
Then  he  seemed  to  estimate  the  distance  yet  remaining;  hori- 
zontally there  were  only  about  six  hundred  feet  of  the  crater 
remaining,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  mathematical  point  of  the 
Pole ;  but  vertically  they  had  fifteen  hundred  feet  yet  to  climb. 
The  ascent  had  already  taken  three  hours ;  Hatteras  did  not 
seem  tired  ;  his  companions  were  exhausted. 

The  top  of  the  volcano  seemed  inaccessible.  The  doctor  wished 
at  any  risk  to  keep  Hatteras  from  going  higher.  At  first  he 
tried  gentle  means,  but  the  captain's  excitement  amounted  to 
delirium ;  on  the  way  he  had  exhibited  all  the  signs  of  growing 
madness,  and  whoever  has  known  him  in  the  different  scenes  of 
his  life  cannot  be  surprised.     In   proportion  as  Hatteras   rose 


426  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

above  the  ocean  his  excitement  increased  ;  he  lived  no  longer  with 
men  ;  he  thought  he  was  growing  larger  with  the  mountain  itself. 

"Hatteras,"  said  the  doctor,  "this  is  far  enough!  we  can't  go 
any  farther ! " 

"  Stay  where  you  are,  then,"  answered  the  captain  in  a  strange 
voice ;  "  I  shall  go  higher  !  " 

"  No  !  that 's  useless  !  you  are  at  the  Pole  here  !  " 

"  No,  no,  higher  !  " 

"  My  friend,  it 's  I  who  am  speaking  to  you.  Dr.  Clawbonny ! 
Don't  you  know  me  1 " 

"Higher!  higher!"  repeated  the  madman. 

"  Well,  no,  we  sha'  n't  let  —  " 

The  doctor  had  not  finished  the  sentence  before  Hatteras,  by 
a  violent  effort,  sprang  over  the  stream  of  Java  and  was  out  of 
their  reach.  They  uttered  a  cry,  thinking  Hatteras  was  lost  in 
the  fiery  abyss ;  but  he  had  reached  the  other  side,  followed  by 
Duke,  who  was  unwilling  to  abandon  him. 

He'  disappeared  behind  a  puff  of  smoke,  and  his  voice  was 
heard  growing  fainter  and  fainter  in  the  distance.  ) 

"  To  the  north  !  "  he  was  shouting,  "  to  the  top  of  Mount  Hat- 
teras !     Do  you  remember  Mount  Hatteras  % " 

They  could  not  think  of  getting  up  to  him ;  there  were  twenty 
chances  to  one  against  their  being  able  to  cross  the  stream  he 
had  leaped  over  with  the  skill  and  luck  of  madmen.  Nor  could 
they  get  around  it.  Altamont  in  vain  tried  to  pass ;  he  was 
nearly  lost  in  trying  to  cross  the  stream  of  lava ;  his  companions 
were  obliged  to  hold. him  by  force. 

"  Hatteras,  Hatteras  !  "  shouted  the  doctor. 

But  the  captain  did  not  answer ;  Duke's  barking  alone  w^as 
heard  upon  the  mountain. 

Still,  Hatteras  could  be  seen  at  intervals  through  the  column 
of  smoke  and  the  showers  of  cinders.  Sometimes  his  arm  or  head 
would  emerge  from  the  whirlwind.  Then  he  would  disappear 
and  be  seen  again  higher  up  in  the  rocks.  His  height  diminished 
with  the  fantastic  swiftness  of  objects  rising  in  the  air.  Half  an 
hour  later  he  seemed  but  a  fraction  of  his  usual  size. 

The  air  was  filled  with  the  dull  noises   of  the  volcano ;  the 


Hatteras  appeared  to  wake  from  his  revery."  —  Page  421 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  427 

mountain  was  roaring  like  a  boiler,  its  sides  were  quivering. 
Hatteras  kept  on,  and  Duke  followed.  From  time  to  time  some 
enormous  rock  w^ould  give  way  beneath  them  and  go  crashing 
down  to  the  sea.  But  Hatteras  did  not  look  back.  He  had 
made  use  of  his  staft'  as  a  pole  on  which  to  fasten  the  English 
flag.  His  companions  observed  every  one  of  his  movements. 
His  dimensions  became  gradually  smaller,  and  Duke  seemed  no 
larger  than  a  rat.  One  moment  the  wind  seemed  to  drive  down 
upon  them  a  great  wave  of  flame.  The  doctor  uttered  a  cry  of 
anguish,  but  Hatteras  reappeared,  standing  and  brandishing  the 
flag. 

This  sight  lasted  for  more  than  an  hour,  —  an  hour  of  struggle 
with  the  trembling  rocks,  with  the  beds  of  ashes  into  which  this 
madman  would  sink  up  to  the  waist.  Now  he  would  be  climbing 
on  his  knees  and  making  use  of  every  inequality  in  the  mountain, 
and  now  he  would  hang  by  his  hands  at  some  sharp  corner, 
swinging  in  the  wind  like  a  dry  leaf. 

At  last  he  reached  the  top,  the  yawming  mouth  of  the  crater. 
The  doctor  then  hoped  that  the  wretched  man,  having  attained 
his  object,  would  perhaps  return  and  have  only  those  dangers 
before  him. 

He  gave  a  last  shout. 

"  Hatteras,  Hatteras  !  " 

The  doctor's  cry  moved  the  American's  heart  so  that  he  cried 
out,  — 

"  I  will  save  him  !  " 

Then  with  one  leap  crossing  the  fiery  toiTent  at  the  risk  of 
falling  in,  he  disappeared  among  the  rocks.  Clawbonny  did  not 
have  time  to  stop  him.  Still,  Hatteras,  having  reached  the  top, 
was  climbing  on  top  of  a  rock  which  overhung  the  abyss.  The 
stones  were  raining  about  him.  Duke  was  still  following  him. 
The  poor  beast  seiemed  already  dizzy  at  the  sight  beneath  him. 
Hatteras  was  whirling  about  his  head  the  flag,  which  was  lighted 
with  the  brilliant  reflection,  and  the  red  bunting  could  be  seen 
above  the  crater.  With  one  hand  Hatteras  was  holding  it ;  with 
the  other  he  was  pointing  to  the  zenith,  the  celestial  pole.  Still 
he  seemed  to  hesitate.     He  was  seeking  the  mathematical  point 


428 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  H ATT  ERAS. 


where  all  the  meridians  meet,  and  on  which  in  his  sublime  obsti- 
nacy he  wanted  to  set  his  foot. 

Suddenly  the  rock  gave  way  beneath  him.  He  disappeared. 
A  terrible  cry  from  his  companions  rose  even  to  the  summit  of 
the  mountain.  A  second  —  a  century  —  passed  !  Clawbonny 
considered  his  friend  lost  and  buried  forever  in  the  depths  of  the 
volcano.  But  Altamont  was  there,  and  Duke  too.  The  man  and 
the  dog  had  seized  him  just  when  he  was  disappearing  in  the 
abyss.  Hatteras  was  saved,  saved  in  spite  of  himself,  and  half 
an  hour  later  the  captain  of  the  Forivard  lay  unconscious  in 
the  arms  of  his  despairing  friends. 


When  he  came  to  himself,  the  doctor  gave  him  a  questioning 
glance  in  mute  agony.  But  his  vague  look,  like  that  of  a  blind 
man,  made  no  reply. 

"  Heavens  ! "  said  Johnson,  "  he  is  blind  !  " 

"No,"  answered  Clawbonny,  —  "no!  My  poor  friends,  we 
have  saved  Hatteras's  body!  His  mind  is  at  the  top  of  the 
volcano  !     He  has  lost  his  reason  !  " 

"  Mad  % "  cried  Johnson  and  Altamont  in  deep  distress. 

"  Mad  !  "  answered  the  doctor. 

And  he  wept  bitterly. 


But  Haiteras  ditl  not  look  b.ick.      He  liad  maclu  use  of  his  staff  as  a  [lole  o;i 
which  to  fasten  the  English  flag."  —  Page  427. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  429 


CHAPTER    XXVI 


RETURN    TO    THE    SOUTH. 


Three  hours  after  this  sad  conchision  to  the  adventures  of 
Captain  Hatteras,  Clawbonny,  Altamont,  and  the  two  sailors 
were  assembled  in  the  cavern  at  the  foot  of  the  volcano.  Then 
Clawbonny  was  asked  to  give  his  oj)inion  on  what  was  to  be 
done. 

"  My  friends,"  he  said,  "  we  cannot  prolong  our  stay  at  Queen's 
Island ;  the  sea  is  open  before  us ;  our  provisions  are  sufficient ; 
we  must  set  out  and  reach  Fort  Providence  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  we  can  go  into  winter-quarters  till  next  summer." 

"  That  is  my  opinion,"  said  Altamont ;  "  the  wind  is  fair,  and 
to-morrow  we  shall  set  sail." 

The  day  passed  in  great  gloom.  The  captain's  madness  was 
a  sad  foreboding,  and  when  Johnson,  Bell,  and  Altamont  thought 
of  their  return,  they  were  afraid  of  their  loneliness  and  remote- 
ness. They  felt  the  need  of  Hatteras's  bold  soul.  Still,  like 
energetic  men  they  made  ready  for  a  new  struggle  with  the 
elements,  and  with  themselves,  in  case  they  should  feel  them- 
selves growing  faint-hearted. 

The  next  day,  Saturday,  July  13th,  the  camping  materials  were 
put  on  the  boat,  and  soon  everything  was  ready  for  their  depart- 
ure. But  before  leaving  this  rock  forever,  the  doctor,  following 
Hatteras's  intentions,  put  up  a  cairn  at  the  place  where  the 
captain  reached  the  island;  this  cairn  was  built  of  large  rocks 
laid  on  one  another,  so  as  to  form  a  perfectly  visible  landmark, 
if  it  were  not  destroyed  by  the  eruption. 

On  one  of  the  lateral  stones  Bell  carved  with  a  chisel  this 
simple  inscription :  — 

JOHN  HATTERAS 
1861. 

A  copy  of  the  document  was  placed  inside  of  the  cairn  in  an 


430  "THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

hermetically  sealed  tin  cylinder,  and  the  proof  of  this  great  dis- 
covery was  left  here  on  these  lonely  rocks. 

Then  the  four  men  and  the  captain,  —  a  poor  body  without  a 
mind,  —  and  his  faithful  Duke,  sad  and  melancholy,  got  into  the 
boat  for  the  return  voyage.  It  was  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
A  new  sail  was  set  up  wath  the  canvas  of  the  tent.  The  launch, 
sailing  before  the  wind,  left  Queen's  Island,  and  that  evening  the 
doctor,  standing  on  his  bench,  waved  a  last  farewell  to  Mount 
Hatteras,   which  was  lighting  up  the  horizon. 

Their  voyage  was  very  quick ;  the  sea,  which  was  alw^ays 
open,  was  easy  sailing,  and  it  seemed  really  easier  to  go  away 
from  the  Pole  than  to  approach  it.  But  Hatteras  was  in  no 
state  to  understand  what  was  going  on  about  him  ;  he  lay  at  full 
length  in  the  launch,  his  mouth  closed,  his  expression  dull,  and 
his  arms  folded.  Duke  lay  at  his  feet.  It  was  in  vain  that  the 
doctor  questioned  him.      Hatteras  did  not  hear  him. 

For  forty-eight  hours  the  breeze  was  fair  and  the  sea  smooth. 
Clawbonny  and  his  companions  rejoiced  in  the  north-wind.  July 
15th,  they  made  Altamont  Harbor  in  the  south  ;  but  since  the 
Polar  Ocean  w^as  open  all  along  the  coast,  instead  of  crossing  New 
America  by  sledge,  they  resolved  to  sail  around  it,  and  reach 
Victoria  Bay  by  sea.  This  voyage  was  quicker  and  easier.  In 
fact,  the  space  which  had  taken  them  a  fortnight  on  sledges  took 
them  hardly  a  week  by  sail ;  and  after  following  the  rugged  out- 
line of  the  coast,  which  was  fringed  with  numerous  fiords,  and 
determining  its  shape,  they  reached  Victoria  Bay,  Monday  even- 
ing, July  23d. 

The  launch  was  firmly  anchored  to  the  shore,  and  each  one  ran 
to  Fort  Providence.  The  Doctor's  House,  the  stores,  the  maga- 
zine, the  fortifications,  all  had  melted  in  the  sun,  and  the  supplies 
had  been  devoured  by  hungry  beasts. 

It  was  a  sad  sight. 

They  were  nearly  at  the  end  of  their  supplies,  and  they  had 
intended  to  renew  them  at  Fort  Providence.  The  impossibility 
of  passing  the  winter  there  was  evident.  Like  people  accustomed 
to  decide  rapidly,  they  determined  to  reach  Baffin's  Bay  as  soon 
as  possible. 


"  The  doctor  put  up  a  cairn."  —  Page  429. 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  431 

"  We  have  nothing  else  to  do,"  said  tlie  doctor  ;  "  Baffin's  Bay 
is  not  six  hundred  miles  from  here ;  we  might  sail  as  far  as  our 
launch  would  carry  us,  reach  Jones's  Sound,  and  from  there  the 
Danish  settlements." 

"  Yes,"  answered  Altamont ;  "  let  us  collect  all  the  provisions 
we  can,  and  leave." 

By  strict  search  they  found  a  few  chests  of  pemmican  here  and 
there,  and  two  barrels  of  preserved  meat,  which  had  escaped 
destruction.  In  short,  they  had  a  supply  for  six  weeks,  and 
powder  enough.  This  was  promptly  collected.  The  day  was 
devoted  to  calking  the  launch,  repairing  it,  and  the  next  day, 
July  24th,  they  put  out  to  sea  again. 

The  continent  towards  latitude  83°  inclined  towards  the  east. 
It  was  possible  that  it  joined  the  countries  known  under  the 
name  of  Grinnell  Land,  Ellesmere,  and  North  Lincoln,  which  form 
the  coast-line  of  Baffin's  Bay.  They  could  then  hold  it  for  cer- 
tain that  Jones's  Sound  opened  in  the  inner  seas,  like  Lancaster 
Sound.  The  launch  then  sailed  without  much  difficulty,  easily 
avoiding  the  floating  ice.  The  doctor,  by  way  of  precaution 
against  possible  delay,  put  them  all  on  half-rations ;  but  this  did 
not  trouble  them  much,  and  their  health  was  unimpaired. 

Besides,  they  were  abl©  to  shoot  occasionally ;  they  killed 
ducks,  geese,  and  other  game,  which  gave  them  fresh  and  whole- 
some food.  As  for  their  drink,  they  had  a  fall  supply  from  the 
floating  ice,  which  they  met  on  the  way,  for  they  took  care  not 
to  go  far  from  the  coast,  the  launch  being  too  small  for  the  open 
sea. 

At  this  period  of  the  year  the  thermometer  was  already,  for 
the  greater  part  of  time,  beneath  the  freezing-point ;  after  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  rainy  weather  snow  began  to  fall,  with  other  signs 
of  the  end  of  summer ;  the  sun  sank  nearer  the  horizon,  and  more 
and  more  of  its  disk  sank  beneath  it  every  day.  July  30th  they 
saw  it  disappear  for  the  first  time,  that  is  to  say,  they  had  a  few 
minutes  of  night. 

Still,  the  launch  sailed  well,  sometimes  making  from  sixty  to 
seventy -five  miles  a  day ;  they  did  not  stop  a  moment ;  they 
knew  what  fatigues  to  endure,  what  obstacles  to  surmount ;  the 


432 


THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 


way  by  land  was  before  them,  if  they  had  to  take  it,  and  these 
confined  seas  must  soon  be  closed;  indeed,  the  young  ice  was 
already  forming  here  and  there.  Winter  suddenly  succeeds 
summer  in  these  latitudes ;  there  are  no  intermediate  seasons ;  no 
spring,  no  autumn.  So  they  had  to  hurry.  July  31st,  the  sky 
being  clear  at  sunset,  the  first  stars  were  seen  in  the  constella- 
tions overhead.  From  this  day  on  there  was  perpetual  mist, 
which  interfered  very  much  with  their  sailing.  The  doctor,  when 
he  saw  all  the  signs  of  winter's  approach,  became  very  uneasy ; 
he  knew  the  difficulties  Sir  John  Ross  had  found  in  o;ettino:  to 


Baffin's  Bay,  after  leaving  his  ship ;  and  indeed,  having  once  tried 
to  pass  the  ice,  he  was  obliged  to  return  to  his  ship,  and  go  into 
winter-quarters  for  the  fourth  year ;  but  he  had  at  least  a  shelter 
against  the  weather,  food,  and  fuel.  If  such  a  misfortune  were  to 
befall  the  survivors  of  the  Forward,  if  they  had  to  stop  or  put 
back,  they  were  lost ;  the  doctor  did  not  express  his  uneasiness 
to  his  companions  ;  but  he  urged  them  to  get  as  far  eastward  as 
possible. 

Finally,  August  15th,  after  thirty  days  of  rather  good  sailing, 
after  struggling  for  forty-eight  houi-s  against  the  ice,  which  was 
accumulating,  after  having  imperilled  their  little  launch  a  hun- 


"  Dead  —  frozen."  —  Page 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  433 

dred  times,  they  saw  themselves  absolutely  stopped,  unable  to  go 
farther ;  the  sea  was  all  frozen,  and  the  thermometer  marked  on 
an  average  -[~1^°-  Moreover,  in  all  the  north  and  east  it  was 
easy  to  detect  the  nearness  of  land,  by  the  presence  of  pebbles ; 
frozen  fresh  water  was  found  more  frequently.  Altamont  made 
an  observation  with  great  exactness,  and  found  they  were  in 
latitude  77°  15',  and  longitude  85°  2'. 

"So,  then,"  said  the  doctor,  *'this  is  our  exact  position;  we 
have  reached  North  Lincoln,  exactly  at  Cape  Eden ;  we  are  en- 
tering Jones's  Sound ;  if  we  had  been  a  little  luckier,  we  should 
have  found  the  sea  open  to  Baffin's  Bay.  But  we  need  not  com- 
plain. If  my  poor  Hatteras  had  at  first  found  so  open  a  sea,  he 
would  have  soon  reached  the  Pole,  his  companions  would  not  have 
deserted  him,  and  he  would  not  have  lost  his  reason  under  his 
terrible  sufferings  !  " 

"  Then,"  said  Altamont,  "  we  have  only  one  course  to  follow ; 
to  abandon  the  launch,  and  get  to  the  east  coast  of  Lincoln  by 
sledge." 

"Abandon  the  launch  and  take  the  sledge?  Well,"  answered 
the  doctor;  "but  instead  of  crossing  Lincoln,  I  propose  going 
through  Jones's  Sound  on  the  ice,  and  reaching  North  Devon." 

"  And  why  1 "  asked  Altamont. 

"Because  we  should  get  nearer  to  Lancaster  Sound,  and  have 
more  chance  of  meeting  whalers." 

"  You  are  right.  Doctor,  but  I  am  afraid  the  ice  is  not  yet  hard 
enough." 

"  We  can  try,"  said  Clawbonny. 

The  launch  was  unloaded  ;  Bell  and  Johnson  put  the  sledge 
together ;  all  its  parts  were  in  good  condition.  The  next  day  the 
dogs  were  harnessed  in,  and  they  went  along  the  coast  to  reach 
the  ice-field. 

Then  they  began  again  the  journey  which  has  .been  so  often 
described  ;  it  Was  tiresome  and  slow  ;  Altamont  was  right  in 
doubting  the  strength  of  the  ice  ;  they  could  not  go  through 
Jones's  Sound,  and  they  had  to  follow  the  coast  of  Lincoln. 

August  21st  they  turned  to  one  side  and  reached  the  en- 
ti'ance  of  Glacier  Sound ;  then  they  ventured  upon  the  ice-field, 

19  BB 


434  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

and  the  next  day  they  reached  Cobourg  Island,  which  they 
crossed  in  less  than  two  days  amid  snow-squalls.  They  could 
advance  more  easily  on  the  ice-fields,  and  at  last,  August  24th, 
they  set  foot  on  North  Devon. 

"Now,"  said  the  doctor,  "we  have  only  to  cross  this,  and 
reach  Cape  Warender,  at  the  entrance  of  Lancaster  Sound." 

But  the  weather  became  very  cold  and  unpleasant ;  the  snow- 
squalls  became  as  violent  as  in  winter;  they  all  found  themselves 
nearly  exhausted.  Their  provisions  were  giving  out,  and  each 
man  had  but  a  third  of  a  ration,  in  order  to  allow  to  the  dogs 
enough  food  in  proportion  to  their  work. 

The  nature  of  the  ground  added  much  to  the  fatigue  of  the 
journey ;  North  Devon  was  far  from  level ;  they  had  to  cross 
the  Trauter  Mountains  by  almost  impassable  ravines,  struggling 
against  all  the  fury  of  the  elements.  The  sledge,  men,  and 
dogs  had  to  rest,  and  more  than  once  despair  seized  the  little 
band,  hardened  as  it  was  to  the  fatigues  of  a  polar  journey.  But, 
w^ithout  their  noticing  it,  these  poor  men  were  nearly  worn  out, 
physically  and  morally ;  they  could  not  support  such  incessant 
fatigue  for  eighteen  months  with  impunity,  nor  such  a  succession 
of  hopes  and  despairs.  Besides,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 
they  went  forward  with  enthusiasm  and  conviction,  which  they 
lacked  when  returning.  So  they  with  difficulty  dragged  on ;  they 
walked  almost  from  habit,  with  the  animal  energy  left  almost 
independent  of  their  will. 

It  was  not  imtil  August  30th  that  they  at  last  left  the  chaos  of 
mountains,  of  which  one  can  form  no  idea  from  the  mountains  of 
lower  zones,  but  they  left  it  half  dead.  The  doctor  could  no 
longer  cheer  up  his  companions,  and  he  felt  himself  breaking 
down.  The  Trauter  Mountains  ended  in  a  sort  of  rugged  plain, 
heaped  up  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the  mountains.  There 
they  w^ere  compelled  to  take  a  few  days  of  rest ;  the  men  could 
not  set  one  foot  before  another ;  two  of  the  dogs  had  died  of  ex- 
haustion. They  sheltered  themselves  behind  a  piece  of  ice,  at  a 
temperature  of  — 2° ;  no  one  dared  put  up  the  tent.  Their  food 
had  become  very  scanty,  and,  hi  spite  of  their  extreme  economy 
with  their  rations,  they  had  a  supply  for  but  a  week  more  ;  game 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


435 


became  rarer,  having  left  for  a  milder  climate.    Stai'vation  threat- 
ened these  exhausted  men. 

Altamont,  who  all  along  had  shown  great  devotion  and  un- 
selfishness, took  advantage  of  the  strength  he  had  left,  and 
resolved  to  procure  by  hunting  some  food  for  his  companions. 
He  took  his  gun,  called  Duke,  and  strode  off  for  the  plains  to  the 
north ;  the  doctor,  Johnson,  and  Bell  saw  him  go  away  without 
much  interest.  For  an  hour  they  did.  not  once  hear  his  gun,  and 
they  saw  him  returning  without  firing  a  single  shot ;  but  he  was 
running  as  if  in  great  alarm. 


"  AVhat  is  the  matter  % "  asked  the  doctor. 

"  There  !  under  the  snow  ! "  answered  Altamont  in  great 
alarm,  indicating  a  point  in  the  horizon. 

"What?" 

"  A  whole  band  of  men  —  " 

"Ahvel" 

"  Dead,  —  frozen,  —  and  even  — " 

The  American  durst  not  not  finish  his  sentence,  but  his  face 
expressed  clearly  his  horror.  The  doctor,  Johnson,  Bell,  aroused 
by  this  incident,  were  able  to  rise,  and  drag  themselves  along  in 
Altamont's  footprints  to  the  part  of  the  plain  to  which  he  had 


436  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HAT T ERAS. 

pointed.  They  soon  reached  a  narrow  space,  at  the  bottom  of  a 
deep  ravine,  and  there  a  terrible  sight  met  their  eyes. 

Bodies  were  lying  half  buried  beneath  the  snow ;  here  an  arm, 
there  a  leg,  or  clinched  hands,  and  faces  still  preserving  an  ex- 
pression of  despair. 

The  doctor  drew  near ;  then  he  stepped  back,  pale  and  agi- 
tated, while  Dnke  barked  mournfully. 

"  Horror  !  "  he  said. 

"  Well  1 "  asked  the  boatswain. 

"Didn't  you  recognize  themr'  said  the  doctor  in  a  strange 
voice. 

"  What  do  you  mean  % " 

"Look!" 

This  ravine  had  been  the  scene  of  the  last  struggle  between  the 
men  and  the  climate,  despair,  and  hunger,  for  from  some  horri- 
ble signs  it  was  easy  to  see  that  they  had  been  obliged  to  eat 
human  flesh.  Among  them  the  doctor  had  recognized  Shandon, 
Penn,  and  the  wretched  crew  of  the  Forward  ;  their  strength  and 
food  had  failed  them ;  their  launch  had  probably  been  crushed  by 
an  avalanche,  or  carried  into  some  ravine,  and  they  could  not 
take  to  the  open  sea ;  probably  they  were  lost  among  these  un- 
known continents.  Besides,  men  who  had  left  in  mutiny  could 
not  long  be  united  with  the  closeness  which  is  necessary  for  the 
accomplishment  of  great  things.  A  ringleader  of  a  revolt  has 
never  more  than  a  doubtful  authority  in  his  hands.  And,  without 
doubt,  Shandon  was  promptly  deposed. 

However  that  may  have  been,  the  crew  had  evidently  under- 
gone a  thousand  tortures,  a  thousand  despairs,  to  end  with  this 
terrible  catastrophe ;  but  the  secret  of  their  sufferings  is  forever 
buried  beneath  the  arctic  snows. 

"  Let  us  flee  !  "  cried  the  doctor. 

And  he  dragged  his  companions  far  from  the  scene  of  the 
disaster.     Horror  lent  them  momentary  strength.     They  set  out 


"  Two  hours  later,  after  unheard-of  efforts,  the  last  men  of  the  Forward  vitr^ 
taken  aboard  the  Danish  whaler  Hans  Christian."  —  Page  438. 


TEE  DESERT  OF  ICE. 


437 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

CONCLUSION. 

Why  linger  over  the  perpetual  sufferings  of  the  survivors? 
They  themselves  could  never  recall  to  their  memory  a  clear 
vision  of  what  had  happened  in  the  week  after  their  horrible 
discovery  of  the  remains  of  the  crew.  However,  September  9th, 
by  a  miracle  of  energy,  they  reached  Cape  Horsburgh,  at  the  end 
of  North  Devon. 


i^^P 


They  were  dying  of  hunger ;  they  had  not  eaten  for  forty- 
eight  hours,  and  their  last  meal  had  been  the  flesh  of  their  last 
Esquimaux  dog.  Bell  could  go  no  farther,  and  old  Johnson  felt 
ready  to  die.  They  were  on  the  shore  of  Baffin's  Bay,  on  the  way 
to  Europe.  Three  miles  from  land  the  waves  were  breaking  on 
the  edges  of  the  ice-field.  They  had  to  await  the  uncertain  pas- 
sage of  a  whaler,  and  how  many  days  yet  ] 

But  Heaven  took  pity  on  them,  for  the  next   day  Altamont 


438  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTER  AS. 

clearly  saw  a  sail.  The  anguish  which  follows  such  an  appear- 
ance of  a  sail,  the  tortures  of  disappointment,  are  well  known. 
The  ship  seemed  to  approach  and  then  to  recede.  Terrible  are 
the  alternations  of  hope  and  despair,  and  too  often  at  the  moment 
the  castaways  consider  themselves  saved  the  sail  sinks  beneath 
the  horizon. 

The  doctor  and  his  companions  went  through  all  these  emo- 
tions;  they  had  reached  the  western  limit  of  the  ice-field,  and 
yet  they  saw  the  ship  disappear,  taking  no  note  of  their  presence. 
They  shouted,  but  in  vain. 

Then  the  doctor  had  a  last  inspiration  of  that  busy  mind  which 
had  served  him  in  such  good  stead. 

A  floe  had  drifted  against  the  ice-field. 

"  That  floe  !  "  he  said,  pointing  to  it. 

They  did  not  catch  his  meaning. 

"  Let  us  get  on  it  1 "  he  cried. 

They  saw  his  plan  at  once. 

"  Ah,  Clawbonny,  Dr.  Clawbonny  ! "  cried  Johnson,  kissing  the 
doctor's  hands. 

Bell,  with  Altamont's  aid,  ran  to  the  sledge ;  he  brought  one 
of  the  uprights,  stood  it  up  on  the  floe  for  a  mast,  making  it  fast 
with  ropes;  the  tent  was  torn  up  for  a  sail.  The  wind  was  fair; 
the  poor  castaways  put  out  to  sea  on  this  frail  raft. 

Two  hours  later,  after  unheard-of  eflPorts,  the  last  men  of  the 
Forivard  were  taken  aboard  the  Danish  whaler  Hans  Christian, 
which  was  sailing  to  Davis  Strait.  The  captain  received  kindly 
these  spectres  who  had  lost  their  semblance  to  human  beings; 
when  he  saw  their  sufferings  he  understood  their  history;  he 
gave  them  every  attention,  and  managed  to  save  their  lives.  Ten 
days  later,  Clawbonny,  Johnson,  Bell,  Altamont,  and  Captain 
Hatteras  landed  at  Korsoeur,  in  Zeeland,  in  Denmark  ;  a  steam- 
boat carried  them  to  Kiel ;  thence,  via  Altona  and  Hamburg,  they 
reached  London  the  13th  of  the  same  month,  hardly  recovered 
from  their  long  sufferings. 

The  first  thought  of  the  doctor  was  to  ask  permission  of  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London  to  lay  a  communciation 
before  it;  he  was  admitted  to  the  meeting  of  July  15th.     The 


A  steamboat  carried  them  to  Kiel."—  Page  438, 


THE  DESERT  OF  ICE.  439 

astonishment  of  the  learned  assembly,  and  its  enthusiastic  cheers 
after  reading  Hatteras's  document,  may  be  imagined. 

This  journey,  the  only  one  of  its  kind,  went  over  all  the  dis- 
coveries that  had  been  made  in  the  regions  about  the  Pole ;  it 
brought  together  the  expeditions  of  Parry,  Ross,  Franklin,  Mac- 
Clure ;  it  completed  the  chart  between  the  one  hundredth  and 
one  hundred  and  fifteenth  meridians ;  and,  finally,  it  ended  with 
the  point  of  the  globe  hitherto  inaccessible,  with  the  Pole  itself. 

Never  had  news  so  unexpected  burst  upon  astonished  England. 

The  English  take  great  interest  in  geographical  facts ;  they 
are  proud  of  them,  lord  and  cockney,  from  the  merchant  prince 
to  the  workman  in  the  docks. 

The  news  of  this  great  discovery  was  telegraphed  over  the 
United  Kingdom  with  great  rapidity;  the  papers  printed  the 
name  of  Hatteras  at  the  head  of  their  columns  as  that  of  a 
martyr,  and  England  glowed  with  pride. 

The  doctor  and  his  companions  were  feasted  everywhere ;  they 
were  formally  presented  to  her  Majesty  by  the  Lord  High  Chan- 
cellor. 

The  government  confirmed  the  name  of  Queen's  Island  for  the 
rock  at  the  North  Pole,  of  Mount  Hatteras  for  the  mountain 
itself,  and  of  Altamont  Harbor  for  the  port  in  New  America. 

Altamont  did  not  part  from  those  whose  misery  and  glory  he 
had  shared,  and  who  were  now  his  friends.  He  followed  the 
doctor,  Johnson,  and  Bell  to  Liverpool,  where  they  were  warmly 
received,  after  they  had  been  thought  to  be  long  dead,  and  buried 
in  the  eternal  ice. 

But  Dr.  Clawbonny  always  gave  the  glory  to  the  man  who 
most  deserved  it.  In  his  account  of  the  journey  entitled  "  The 
English  at  the  North  Pole,"  published  the  next  year  by  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society,  he  made  John  Hatteras  equal  to 
the  greatest  explorers,  the  rival  of  those  bold  men  who  sacrifice 
everything  to  science. 

But  the  sad  victim  of  a  lofty  passion  lived  peacefully  at  the 
asylum  of  Starr  Cottage  near  Liverpool,  where  the  doctor  had 
placed  him.  His  madness  was  of  a  gentle  kind,  but  he  never 
spoke,  he  understood  nothing,  his  power  of  speech  seemed  to  have 


440  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  CAPTAIN  HATTERAS. 

gone  with  his  reason.  A  single  feeling  seemed  to  unite  him  to 
the  outer  world,  his  love  for  Duke,  who  was  not  separated  from 
him. 

This  disease,  this  "  polar  madness,"  pursued  its  course  quietly, 
presenting  no  particular  symptom,  when  Dr.  Clawbonny,  who 
often  visited  his  poor  patient,  was  struck  by  his  singular  manner. 

For  some  time  Captain  Hatteras,  followed  by  his  faithful  dog, 
that  used  to  gaze  at  him  sadly,  would  walk  for  hours  every  day ; 
but  he  always  walked  in  one  wa}^,  in  the  direction  of  a  certain 
path.  When  he  had  reached  the  end,  he  would  return,  walking 
backwards.  If  any  one  stopped  him,  he  would  point  his  finger 
at  a  portion  of  the  sky.  If  any  one  tried  to  make  him  turn 
round,  he  grew  angry,  and  Duke  w^ould  show  his  anger  and  bark 
furiously. 

The  doctor  observed  carefully  this  odd  mania ;  he  understood 
the  motive  of  this  strange  obstinacy ;  he  guessed  the  reason  of 
this  w^alk  always  in  the  same  direction,  and,  so  to  speak,  under 
the  influence  of  a  magnetic  force. 

Captain  John  Hatteras  was  always  walking  towards  the  north. 


FINIS. 


University  Press,  Cambridge:  Printed  by  Welcb,  Bigelow,  &  Co. 


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